Boys gymnastics: Hersey's Bednar third in all-around at Burke Invite

Hersey's Matt Bednar was so close to qualifying for the state boys gymnastics all-around finals last year, he could taste it. Unfortunately it was a just a tad on the bitter side when he missed the cut by just one qualifier.

Bednar swore that he would not let that happen to him again. The senior took a huge step forward with his performance Saturday at the John Burke Varsity Invite at Niles West.

Bednar came up with a solid performance in the all-around, finishing third with a 49.90. Like a man on a mission, Bednar was pleased with the finish, but not overjoyed with his performance in all of his events.

"I struggled on both high bar and vault, "Bednar said. "I missed my vault completely. But I'll take the third place overall. I can't really be that upset. This is the toughest meet besides sectionals and state. I am really happy that I got third."

Bednar also got a first, scoring an 8.30 to win the rings. He also was third on the floor (9.10) and fifth on the pommel horse (7.90) and high bar (7.90).

Bednar's performance, along with teammate Garret Naughton, who was second in the floor (9.20) and pommel horse (8.55) and third in the parallel bars (9.00), helped Hersey to a fourth-place finish in the meet with a 136.35.

Glenbrook North won the event with a 151.00, host Niles West was second with a 146.35 and defending state champion Deerfield was third with a 143.80.

Hersey coach Joon Yun said that Naughton competed in just three events while the rest of the Huskies were working to improve on their events.

"We just focused on cleaning up our routines," Yun said. "We got some good results and some we didn't. So we still have some work to do."

Schaumburg's Brandon Nyborg also was limited in the events he competed in. Nyborg made the most of it, winning the floor with a 9.30, taking second on the rings (8.20) and ninth on the vault (9.00).

"I am coming off the flu," Nyborg said. "I know I could do better, especially on the floor. I am going to shoot for higher this year."

Schaumburg was also without Oscar Kulesza. Nathan Frank took eighth on the pommel horse (7.45) and high bar (7.60) and 10th on the parallel bars (8.40) while Trever Barnes was also limited in his events.

"We did a pretty good job with what we had to work with," said Schaumburg coach Eric Bostrom, whose team finished eighth with a 126.65.

"We came in after a week with the flu and have several guys out. The guys that were in are still weak. But we had some other guys step up and do well for us."

Conant got off to a disastrous start when Jared Prill broke his right wrist during his warmup set on the parallel bars. The Cougars did bounce back behind Caleb Savoy, who was 10th on the vault (8.80) and Jesse Meyrick who was 11th on the high bar (7.20).

"Our skills are improving," said Conant coach Paul Kim, whose team was 10th with a 113.70. "We are getting more comfortable doing routines. The loss of Prill hurts us. He was a leader on the team."

Buffalo Grove finished ninth with a 124.75. The Bison were led by Ben Goldberg, who was ninth in the all-around with a 42.20.

"We had a few solid things and some things to work on," Buffalo Grove coach Zach Crandall said. "It is early in the season. It is kind of what we expect at this point."