Geneva 2nd, Batavia 3rd at regionals
Geneva and Batavia were left looking way up at the hosts during Wednesday's Glenbard West regional.
The Hilltoppers won convincingly with 149.95 points, Geneva placed second with a 139.25 and Batavia had a 130.75.
Geneva's hopes of capturing a team at-large berth were thwarted as their 139.25 fell short of the current team cutoff of OP-RF's 141.3 and St. Charles co-op's 139.975. With both Lake Park and Wheaton co-op anticipated to score in the 140s on Thursday, like they did in the DuPage Valley Conference meet last Friday, St. Charles co-op will more than likely get bumped as well.
"We struggled on vault to start out so it wasn't a good feel there, but we came back on bars," Vikings coach Kim Hostman said. "Gracie did amazing with her new dismount on bars to make it through and we did what we usually do on floor and landed some new skills. We just couldn't hit beam tonight or we would've been right there in it."
The Vikings will be well represented at sectional with freshman Kathryn Wendt qualifying on floor and the all-around to lead the way.
"I'm happy I'm moving on but I wish we were moving on as a team," she said. "It's a lot better when everyone is there as a team cheering you on."
Junior Gracie de Vita advanced on bars, while seniors Lily Chapman and Kelly Frank accomplished the similar feat on vault and floor respectively.
"Gymnastics are very unpredictable," Chapman said. "But we came a long way this season so I'm really proud of that."
Said Frank: "I think it's exciting to make it to sectionals, but we're upset not making it as a team. Individually there's more pressure now than there would be if we were going as a team."
Batavia sophomore Taylor Novotny just missed qualifying for the sectional in the all-around, taking sixth place with a 32.275.
"We've some girls on the cusp right now, but it's fine," Bulldogs coach Taryn Boyce said. "We only had a 124 at conference so we were able to put it together with a changed lineup to finish on a very positive, strong note, which is all you can ask for this season with the injuries."