Boys gymnastics: Scahumburg too deep for Meadows, Conant
Schaumburg had just a little too much depth and held of Rolling Meadows Tuesday at the Conant boys gymnastics triangular in Hoffman Estates.
Just two days back from spring break Schaumburg was impressive, scoring a 152.90 to easily outdistance Rolling Meadows, which finished with a 141.20, and Conant which scored a 122.30.
The Saxons showed how hard they worked during the break.
"We really did a nice job tonight," Schaumburg coach Erik Bostrom said. "They came off of break and they worked hard. They want it and want to improve on what they had. Hopefully we can make the climb the last few weeks of April."
Bostrom also likes the fact that it just doesn't come down to one guy for his team.
"We have guys that are spread throughout our lineup that have their talents," Bostrom said. "There is no one guy that finishes the meet on every event. They all bring their unique individual strengths."
Really bringing his strength on Tuesday was Oscar Kulesza, who won three events and tied on another while also winning all-around.
Kulesza scored a 53.00 in the all-around and had winning scores on the pommel horse (8.60), parallel bars (9.30) and high bar (9.20). He tied Rolling Meadows' Ben Kowalski on the vault with a 9.30.
"I just practiced over spring break and took it seriously," Kulesza said. "I just look to go up there each and every time, have a clean set, and get off."
Brandon Nyborg won the rings for Schaumburg with a 9.40.
"Every event I did went real well tonight," Nyborg said. "We are just trying to have fun. All of us know that we are doing really well this year and just want to stay confident."
Nathan Frank was third in the all-around for Schaumburg with a 46.90. The Saxons also got strong performances from Trever Baynes, Trent Ramirez, Rundra Anumala, Dylan Ridenour, Brody Adelman, Bruno Gandara, Giancarlo Sarasti and Thomas Stevens.
It was the first meet of the season and just the second day back for Rolling Meadows coach Michael Costa. A fixture for the Mustangs, Costa had been sidelined since earlier this season when he tore his ACL and was not released to return to the gym until last Monday.
Costa was happy to be back, but not overwhelmed by his team's performance.
"It is 100 percent accurate that I am pleased to be back," Costa said. "It is hard coaching from home. My assistants did a great job managing things while I was gone, but we didn't do well tonight. It showed that we didn't work hard during the break. We need to really focus now with the season coming to an end."
Kowalski was second in the all-around with a 51.70 and besides tying for the vault, won the floor with a 9.50. Ryan Rettig and Michael Dukes also scored well for the Mustangs.
Conant got solid performances from Isaac Lopez-Salgado and Caleb Savoy.
"We had great spring break practices," Conant coach Paul Kim said. "We added some tricks with more difficulty and tonight was the first time performing it. It was a little rusty, something we will need to clean up."
State seeds were released last Wednesday and Schaumburg was awarded a No. 5 seed for the state tournament. It means that the Saxons will host a sectional, which will be on Friday, May 3.
Rolling Meadows, was seeded seventh, but that could change to a No. 6 seed, which would put the Mustangs right back in a meet with Schaumburg.