Boys gymnastics: Palatine closing in on school record
Palatine rode the horse to a winning finish Wednesday.
The Pirates scored an impressive 27.1 on the pommel horse to help the Pirates saunter to a 159.60 in a triangular meet at Palatine. Hersey finished with a 137.70 while Fremd scored a 133.50 to round out the field.
Palatine, which was just awarded the third seed in the state tournament, will host a sectional on May 2nd. And if the Pirates have a meet like they did Wednesday, they will be well on their way to another state finals appearance.
"We had a really good start to the meet," Palatine coach Scott Hagel said. "We are getting very close to a school record (159.80). But we need to get that in a meet with two judges. We tried some things here at the end and we know we can get there."
The Pirates trio of Dominic Filichia, John Pirone and Trey Wilcox were nearly unflappable in each of their performances.
Filichia scored a season-high 8.4. He was followed by Pirone, who scored a 9.5, and Wilcox, who is the defending state champion in the event, and ended the winning performances with a 9.20.
"It is years in the making," said Wilcox, who is a senior and finished with an all-around score of 54.10.
"John is coming for that title. But we look really great as a team."
Pirone, who competed in only five events and is in his first year of competing in high school gymnastics, said that he loves competing with Wilcox on a daily basis.
"It is so great for both of us," said Pirone, who is a junior. "I live it. We encourage each other every day."
Filichia, who is also a senior, finished with an all-around score of 52.00 and had a 9.40 on the high bar. Jaylin Rover also helped the Pirates by scoring 42.20 in the all-around.
Hersey was able to use their strong floor and vault scores to propel the Huskies to their highest score of the season.
Nate Mabry had a 9.50 on the floor and scored a 9.30 in the vault to finish with an all-around score of 53.70. Drew Netolicky also had a solid meet, scoring a 46.90 in the all-around.
"We had a very good meet," Hersey coach Joon Yun said. "Nate (Mabry) and Drew (Netolicky) have been working really hard and it has began to show. Our whole team has improved."
Fremd also has been steadily improving this season. The Vikings were led by all-arounders Victor Balica, who scored a 49.40 in the all-around, and Joseph Ferlita, who had a 43.00 in the all-around, including an 8.80 on the floor.
"The kids have been working real hard to get these new skills." Fremd coach Jason Brandenburg said. "They have also been working on all the elements. They really pull and cheer for each other in the gym."