Girls gymnastics: Glenbard West cruises to regional title
Glenbard West junior Sammy Hopper continues making significant gymnastics strides since last girls gymnastics season.
She couldn't even do one giant swing on uneven parallel bars. With that and other improvements, she's now reached the coveted 36.00 all-around mark multiple times.
"I've put in so much effort and now that it's finally starting to show, I'm happy with that," Hopper said.
"Even last year I was not very good on bars and I just increased my difficulty and my consistency. I was a (junior varsity) kid my freshman year. It just shows how much energy and time I've put into (gymnastics)."
The Hilltoppers haven't forgotten how close they came to reaching state two years ago. On Wednesday, they won the Glenbard West Regional with 141.25 points over Willowbrook (133.70), St. Charles co-op (132.10) and Fenton (34.675), which competed two freshmen.
Hopper won vault (9.3) and Glenbard West senior Meagan McNamara captured floor exercise (9.325).
Willowbrook senior Bella Naumovsky won all-around (36.30), uneven parallel bars (high-school best 9.5) and balance beam (9.075).
The Hilltoppers are home again for the Glenbard West Sectional Feb. 10, where the champion automatically makes the eight-team state field.
Glenbard West has been the sectional's top team but has been outscored by fellow regional champions DeKalb/Sycamore co-op (season-high 143.625) and Lake Park (142.325).
Glenbard West coach Carlos Fuentes said he has been tweaking the lineup and resting injuries to be fully prepared for sectionals.
"Our job was to win the regional and move on," Fuentes said. "I'd always rather go into a sectional feeling a little imperfect. We'll be ready for everyone (at sectionals)."
Senior Alina Bhagwakar is the only remaining link to Glenbard West's 2018 and 2019 state championship teams, contributing a counting vault at 2019 state. Bhagwakar, McNamara and juniors Skylar Oh and Brooklyn Ford were part of the 2020 sectional lineup that had the state's ninth-highest sectional score (143.225), .175 from reaching state.
"Everyone has that little bit of fire in their eyes. And since (sectionals are) at home, you have all of your home equipment and you're very used to the atmosphere," McNamara said.
Hopper (35.575) and sophomore Janelle Gama (35.00) were second and fourth in all-around. Hopper also was third on floor (9.175) and fourth on uneven bars (8.8) and Gama also was second on vault (9.225), fourth on floor (8.85) and fifth on uneven bars (8.6).
Oh was second on uneven bars (9.05) and floor (9.2). Bhagwakar was third on uneven bars (9.0) and Ford was fourth on beam (8.425).
Willowbrook very well could join Glenbard West with the Warriors' first sectional-qualifying team in decades.
The Warriors have the second advancing at-large score with one regional left. Naumovsky, senior Tess Placek and junior Sarah Ball already have advanced individually.
"We had good events and then a couple that really weren't," Willowbrook coach Andy Isaacson said. "The two senior leaders did outstanding but the only way to learn is to get out and do it."
Naumovsky, 12th on uneven bars at state as a sophomore, beat her previous best of 9.325 at state. On beam, Naumovsky upgraded and landed a flip-flop layout flight series.
"I still can go up (on bars). I know what I can fix. And my starting value isn't a 10.00. It's 9.8," Naumovsky said.
"I'm really proud as a team, not the scores but the environment that we had. Everybody kept picking up each other, which was awesome, and that we could finish this well on floor."
Placek and Naumovsky also tied for third on vault (9.025), Placek was fifth in all-around (33.475). Ball earned her first sectional berth with a fifth-place 8.8 on floor, the Warriors' last event.
"(Floor) was a hard routine at the end of today. Not much gas left in the tank, but I gave it all I had for Bella and Tess," Ball said.
St. Charles co-op advanced senior Peyton Walsh and freshmen Rachel Nicastro and Emily Johnson while achieving its second-highest score this season.
Nicastro was third in all-around (35.05), second on beam (8.9) and fifth on vault (9.0). She was most excited about her seventh-place 8.45 on uneven bars.
"Every meet it's been one event (on), one event (off), but I think tonight I pulled it together. I haven't had the pressure-feeling (of competition) in along time so it's been really rewarding," Nicastro said.
Also on beam, Johnson was third (8.55) with one of her best scores and Walsh was fifth (8.4) despite a fall for her first sectional berth.
"It's a really cool feeling because obviously I didn't do my best routine," Walsh said. "I was kind of frustrated but I'm super happy (to qualify) and to do it with my teammates."