Wheaton Warrenville co-op tops Lake Park again
Wheaton Warrenville co-op and Lake Park have seen a lot of each other this girls gymnastics season.
Once again the two teams squared off during Tuesday's Wheaton Warrenville South regional, and for the fifth time in as many tries this year Wheaton co-op prevailed, beating the Lancers 142.675 to 136.85.
U-46 co-op was third with a 123.45, and short-handed Glenbard North had an 86.5.
With the victory the Fligers advance to their own Wheaton Warrenville South sectional on Feb. 4.
"It's comforting having your own equipment and just competing in your own gym," Wheaton co-op senior Macy Smykal said. "'I'm glad we didn't have our best meet tonight so we can spare that for sectional. We didn't want to have a really great meet and then fall short of our expectations at sectionals."
Smykal edged Glenbard North sophomore Sarah Ozeki for the all-around title, 35.875 to 35.85.
Smykal tied senior teammate Jackie Kerth for second on vault, placed second on beam and finished her evening by winning floor in spectacular fashion with a 9.5.
"Floor isn't usually too nerve-wracking for me because I just try to go out there and have fun," she said. "I think floor went really well and we're all capable of making our routines like that. We're kind of focusing on the little things now, how many steps we take and working on the dance, making sure it gets all the way around."
Junior teammate Maura Clark was ecstatic in winning bars.
"It's really exciting," she said. "I definitely have things that I need to fix so there are improvements to be made so I'm excited about that."
Jamie LaBue also joined Clark and Smykal on the award stand for first place when the junior took top honors on vault.
Senior Jill Horvatin qualified individually for sectionals on beam, junior Bridget Kennedy also did so on bars, junior Caroline Gillis advanced on floor and sophomore Emily Burnham accomplished the same feat with strong performances on bars and beam. All their efforts boosted their team total.
Lake Park had just battled Wheaton co-op last Friday in the inaugural DuKane Conference meet. They also saw one another at a pair of invites this season as well as in a conference dual in late November. This time the Lancers were without their top all-arounder Raquel Suhr; the standout sophomore was at home ill.
"It was disappointing but it happens," Lancers junior Julia Kurek said. "At practice we all work so hard in case it happens. We have alternates, so people are ready to step up and take that spot."
Kurek won beam and took fifth on the floor exercise to qualify for sectionals. She'll be joined by a pair of freshmen. Paula Naronowicz took fourth on floor and Paulina Lucer was third in the all-around.
"Beam has been pretty good throughout the season," Kurek said. "I was very happy to win today. Obviously, it was amazing, but as a team I think we are getting stronger and stronger on beam too."
She remains hopeful the team will show its prowess on beam next week, but the Lancers will need to wait and see if they scored enough points to snag an at-large berth after the final two regionals are decided.
Ozeki recaptured some of the magic she had early in the season, which had eluded her for a bit.
"Towards the beginning of the season I was on a roll and doing really well and then I kind of hit a rut," the sophomore said. "It's all about mentality. I couldn't get the right mindset and the upcoming postseason kind of scared me a bit, so I got back into the gym everyday to get back on track."
She appeared well on track Tuesday. She was the only competitor to finish in the Top 5 in all four events.
"I did really well tonight," she said. "I know my body can do gymnastics. I just have to get out there and do it."
U-46 utilized five all-arounders, including junior Gianna Murkowski, who scored a 32.175, and freshman Allison Bucaro, who had a 31.8. Both qualified for next Monday's sectional.