Boys gymnastics: Schaumburg settles down, secures sixth place

It has been a couple of crazy and nervous days for the Schaumburg boys gymnastics team and coach Erik Bostrom.

With a young squad that was led by a sophomore and two freshmen, the Saxons were a bundle of nerves. So was Bostrom, whose wife Jessica gave birth to their second child, Mae, late Thursday.

Schaumburg's athletes slowly overcame their butterflies and Bostrom, who arrived about halfway through the state team competition Friday at Hoffman Estates after leaving the hospital to be with his guys, was also settling down.

All delivered quite well as Schaumburg finished sixth with a score of 153.45.

It was a one-place improvement from last year's seventh-place finish. Schaumburg had finished eighth and fourth in the previous seasons.

"That is a respectable way to finish, to score the same we did at sectionals," said Bostrom, whose team had an identical 153.45 to win their first sectional just over a week ago. "This is such a high-pressure situation, so the boys performed well. For the fact that most of our counting scores are freshmen and sophomores, to come out here at the state meet with this crowd and all this energy, they did very well."

Deerfield won its first state gymnastics title in school history with a score of 159.80. Glenbard West was second with a 158.40, Lyons took third with 156.55, Wheaton South co-op was fourth (156.10) and Mundelein was fifth (154.45).

Bostrom had prepared his team for the likelihood that he would be having his second child to join his eldest daughter Bianca, and that he could late or even absent. Bostrom arrived after three events, just as his team was about to perform on the pommel horse.

"I wasn't sure I would be able to make it all," Bostrom said. "I was happy I was able to get there for the second half and see the boys perform."

Schaumburg assistant coach Eric Harima guided the Saxons through those first three events.

"It was a little hectic, but it went fine," Harima said. "We have a good group of kids. This is not my first state meet, it was just my first time running it."

The Saxons did as well as could be expected with Brandon Nyborg leading the way. The sophomore, who finished 10th in the all-around with a 52.75, looked strong until he twisted his ankle on his final event, the vault.

"It went all right for me tonight," Nyborg said. "There were a lot of nerves out there. It felt pretty good though, because Hoffman is right next door to us and we are familiar with the equipment."

Oscar Kulesza, who scored a 50.85 to finish 21st in the all-around, said despite the nerves he still enjoyed the experience.

"First time state meet, there were some nerves, but it was fun," Kulesza said. "There were a couple mistakes, but there is still tomorrow and we can fix them."

Nathan Frank also competed all six events for the Saxons but was not eligible to score in the all-around.

"It was a little more nervous out there," said Frank, a freshman. "But I thought I did real well out there - except for floor. I had a little wobble there. But I feel I came back pretty well."

Schaumburg also got solid performances from Trever Baynes, Wei Ping Lam, Jacob Raeside, Trent Ramirez, James Minard, Sean Kraemer and Kafar Greer. Only Lam, Raeside, Minard, Kraemer and Greer are seniors, so the Saxons have something to build on for next season.

In the all-around, Nyborg's 10th-place finish was tops in the area. The event was was won by Willowbrook's Adam Sousa and Highland Park's Kevin Connors, who tied with a 55.60.

Rolling Meadows' Ben Kowalski did not have the all-around meet he'd hoped for. Kowalski, who came into the meet with the third-best all-around score at sectionals, had some trouble early, which included a slight separation of his right shoulder. He completed the meet, which included a fall on the high bar, and finished 16th with score of 51.35.

"It was not too good of a start," said Kowalski said. "I started on parallel bars and I don't know what happened, but it totally messed me up for the next two events. But I picked it up again after that and finished strong."

Hersey sophomore Garrett Naughton tied for 13th in the all-around with a 52.15.

"I fell on horse, but that happens to the best of us," said Naughton. "It was very interesting out there tonight. Everyone was all over the place and it was really loud. It was cool."

Palatine's Christian Lunsford overcame a pair of falls and finished tied for 17th in the all-around with a 51.20.

"It went all right," Lunsford. "I am coming back tomorrow (Saturday) to do all six events, so I have to do better tomorrow."

Prospect's Jack D'Onfrio was the final area gymnast to compete in the all-around. The senior finished 29th with a score of 47.20.