Waddington, Palatine enjoy success on Senior Night
Jocie Waddington wanted her final meet in the Palatine gym to be a memorable one. The senior did just that.
On Senior Night, Waddington and her Palatine gymnastics teammates took it to another level.
Waddington scored a career-best 37.55 in the all-around as she helped Palatine win a dual meet with Barrington, outscoring the Fillies 140.75 to 136.55. With the win, Palatine made it a clean sweep in the Mid- Suburban West.
"It has been a great meet," said Waddington, who had top scores in all four events. She scored a 9.50 on both the vault and bars, a 9.15 on the beam and a 9.40 on the floor.
"We had a rough start to the season. The girls have been picking it up. It has been very emotional. My mom was here. I am just trying to be as good as I can be."
What made it even more special was that Waddington was able to accomplish this in the same gym that her mother, Jodi Forsberg, was able to do so.
"It was kind of bittersweet," Forsberg said. "It is fun to see her have the same type of team experiences that I had growing up here. I am proud of all these kids. I have coached all these kids at the park district."
Both mom and daughter were and still are coached by Palatine coach Terry Theobald.
"It has been fun," Theobald said. "I am going to try to go one more year so I can coach the sister, Jolee. She will be a freshman next year."
Waddington, along with seniors Kali Drufke, Megan Stoffel, Kaci Wimer, Rutvi Parikh, Melanie Reidel, Sofia Annerino and Emma Kronberg also set the tone for the entire program.
"It is really sad," Wimer said. "This is the last time I am competing with my team at home. This has been so much fun. When someone messes up, we pick each other up. That's the lesson here."
Not only did the Pirates go unbeaten in conference meets on the varsity level, but they did so at the junior varsity and freshman levels as well. It was the first time in school history that Palatine was able to accomplish that feat.
"We have eight seniors and they help lead," Theobald said. "It is a big deal. It tells what we are doing at all three levels. We coach all three levels together and it shows."
Theobald was happy with his team's performance on Wednesday, where Magdalena Weber and Emily Ziemba also were key contributors.
"We still don't have a full lineup," Theobald said. "Hopefully at the end, when it counts, we will have them all back."
Barrington had also not a had full lineup all season. The Fillies have struggled with COVID issues and then some injuries.
They still got good performances from Ember Stennett, who had a 35.10 in the all-around. Adrianna Merzyn, Anika Patel, Sofia Rosenzweig and Elenora Marquis also contributed.
"We did not do bad tonight for what he we had and what we have been dealt this season," Barrington coach Jason Loeffler said. "We have a lot of kids out. We are trying to get them back healthy and getting them for gym time to practice before they compete."
Loeffler certainly had the save of the night. He was spotting Patel on the vault, when Patel got in trouble while airborne. Loeffler dove in and pulled her to safety, before Patel crash landed.