advertisement

Scouting DuPage County girls gymnastics

Top returning athletes: Downers Grove co-op - Mia Bowers (Sr., all-around), Melina Pipilas (Sr., all-around); Glenbard East - Rebecca Honig (Sr., all-around), Kali Kartheiser (Sr., all-around); Glenbard North - Sarah Ozeki (Sr., all-around); Glenbard West - Anna Diab (Sr., all-around), Alina Bhagwakar (Jr., all-around); Neuqua Valley - Amelia Wachtel (Jr., all-around); Hinsdale Central - Annette Sommers (Jr., all-around); Lake Park - Racquel Suhr (Sr., all-around), Paula Naronowicz (Jr., all-around); Naperville Central - Delaney Sterr (Sr., beam, floor, vault); Naperville North - Katie Kristle (Jr., all-around); Willowbrook - Bella Naumovsky (Jr., bars, beam, floor)

Top teams: Downers Grove co-op, Glenbard East, Glenbard West, Lake Park

Season outlook: Addison Trail welcomes back fourth-year gymnasts Francesca Scarabaggio and Lexie Theodore, junior Delaney Gregory, sophomore Maddie Mucciantia and adds freshmen Nicolette Francak and Brooke Greaves. "While all the girls are battling the weirdness of COVID-impacted spots, they are glad to be back in the gym," Blazers coach Kyle Padera said.

All-arounders Mia Bowers, Melina Pipilas and Kathryn Snouffer all appeared at state a season ago and return this year for a seriously talented Downers Grove co-op squad. Gabriella Stellate, Emily Smetana, Gretchen Lucina and Natalie Simpson return and freshman Madison Piotrowski joins in on the fun.

Glenbard East is going from its greatest to its strangest season and has some tremendous, experienced talent with seniors Rebecca Honig and Kali Kartheiser leading the way. "We are not sure if we are going to get in any competitions that are nonconference so right now our competition is Oswego High School," Rams coach Jessica Bugajsky said. "But again, this is a different year so I guess anything can happen." The Rams have several newcomers and Eliza Pugacewicz, Riley Olson and Ella Kud return.

Glenbard North had some kids opt against returning, but the Panthers are still talented with senior Sarah Ozeki and sophomore Brooklyn McQuillan leading the returnees and some talented youngsters now in the mix, including freshman Skyler Libel. "Just being back is the main goal," Panthers coach Dennis Wellman said. "We have 11 athletes returning. We're just going to keep trucking along and see how it goes."

Glenbard South is looking forward to staying safe and having fun. Senior captains Jensen Moloney and Amber Hood and sophomore Brooke Poltrock are back to the lead the Raiders. Coach Lee Wood also is excited to see what freshmen Skylar Fischer and Isabella Krabec and sophomore Megan Wujek are capable of doing,

Glenbard West just missed getting to state last year after winning two state titles and was itching to try to get back this season. "It would've been an interesting year to measure ourselves up," Hilltoppers coach Carlos Fuentes said. "We worked so hard and almost (advanced to state) and they redoubled their efforts and trained as hard as they could." Now they'll go out and try to keep winning and truly enjoying the sport. All-everything senior all-arounder Anna Diab leads the way for this deep, talented and experienced group.

Hinsdale Central will certainly having Caroline Klobach but the Red Devils have some talent and anticipate good times in the gym. The team is deep with senior Olivia Widtfeldt and juniors Annette Sommers and Athena Kouloris among the team's top upperclassmen. The sophomore gymnasts will contribute as will a mix of newcomers. "Although rusty from the breaks in workouts, the girls are looking forward to having some kind of a season," Hinsdale Central coach Kim Estoque said.

Lake Park should once again be a fun team to watch with all-arounders Racquel Suhr and Paula Naronowicz and specialists Olivia Perez and Aleka Gierarsimiuk back to continue where they left off last season, in the high 142s. The Lancers welcome freshmen Julia Bartnik, Cali Keefe and Victoria Tekien.

Naperville Central has eight seniors total in its program and coach Christina Tardy, a former Redhawks gymnast herself, is looking to make it a memorable one. "They all have dedicated four years to the team and it has been fun to see them come so far not only with their gymnastics, but as leaders," she said. Senior three-event specialist Delaney Sterr and all-arounders Tammy Bajek and Namrata Bhattacharjee are also happily back in the gym.

Naperville North looks to create a winning culture with sophomore Abby Aldrich and juniors Evie Glaze and Katie Kristle leading the way. "Our goal is to keep our focus on each other and help each individual improve in order to be a team worthy of competing against," Huskies coach Chris Stanicek said.

Neuqua Valley junior all-arounder Amelia Wachtel returns and freshmen Hannah Fitzgerald and Haley Fitzgerald and junior Audrey Baun are among the Wildcats' newcomers who coach Katie Novorolsky said have potential to do really well. The focus is to enjoy the season and the break from postseason pressure. "This is our year to try some new things and see how we may want to make some changes moving forward," Novorolsky said.

Waubonsie/Metea Valley co-op graduated a lot of experience so the team is in rebuild mode and simply excited to be back in the gym. Coach Phillip Gilmer said, "my goal for this season is to get the skills back that we ended with last year and add just a few more." It's a young group with sophomores Stephanie Svec and Emily Thompson returning and freshmen Hailey Mitchell and Emily Ruprich joining the team.

Wheaton co-op lost a lot of talent both to graduation and the delayed season. "We still have a decent size team although we lost a few members during the pause which is unfortunate," Wheaton co-op coach Maureen Kermend said. "Our athletes have worked hard to stay in shape and remain active so I am excited for them to return to competition." Senior multi-eventers Annie McBride, Julia Ripp and Kate Weber, junior Sam Nepras and sophomores Ashley Huang and Ella Schecter are among Wheaton's returning gymnasts.

Willowbrook's gymnasts made a list of goals and they're adding difficulty to the routines that they worked on over the summer as they finally get back into the gym. That in of itself should be considered a hit routine. Most of the Warriors return, including senior Maeve Costello, juniors Bella Naumovsky and Tess Placek and sophomores Sarah Ball and Hanna Mitrick. Naumovsky advanced to state a year ago, the first Warrior since 2009.

Fenton is not competing this season. Hinsdale South and York did not provide any team information.

Glenbard West's Diab looking for a fun finale

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.