Boys gymnastics: Glenbrook North, Buffalo Grove's Valek shine at Bohl Invite

The battle for the championship of the 13-team Bob Bohl Invitational couldn't have been any closer Friday night as the final result came down to the last boys gymnast in the last rotation between Glenbrook North and Hoffman Estates.

And it was the Spartans who prevailed by a narrow 140.8 to 140.75 margin over the Hawks for the team title as Glenbrook North had just enough points to take home the first-place trophy.

Led by all-around champion Ben Valek (55.2 points, 9.20 average), Buffalo Grove placed third with 133 points, followed by Glenbard East (130.2) in fourth, Libertyville (129.8) in fifth, and Glenbrook South (125.4) in sixth.

Hoffman Estates' Alex Serwatkiewicz (54.45) took runner-up honors in the all-around followed by Glenbrook North's Kian Sullivan (52.2) in third, Mundelein's Holden Allsbury (51.1) in fourth, and Glenbard East's Vaden Srey (50.6) in fifth.

"It was a good meet, not our best, but we're working towards that," said Glenbrook North coach Ryan Dul. "The guys are really gelling together as a team, and we just try to aim for consistency."

Hoffman Estates was coming off a season-high score of 143.7 on Thursday night, but the Hawks were unable to match that performance in back-to-back meets.

"The key (to making the state meet) is for them to all hit together," said Hoffman Estates coach Ryan Brown, whose team has a goal of reaching the Elite Eight. "There are only four of them on the varsity team so all of them have to hit."

After winning the state championship last year on parallel bars, Valek also has high hopes as the 2022 season continues to unfold.

"This was my best meet of the season, " said Valek, who took first place on pommel horse (9.4) and still rings (8.9). "For state I did win (parallel bars) so I'm proud of that, and this year finishing in the top five (in all-around) would be great."

Serwatkiewicz won parallel bars (9.7), floor (9.6), vault (9.5), and high bar (9.4) while Libertyville's Grady Georgia (47.4) placed sixth overall.

"Almost every athlete has upped their difficulty, and it paid off significantly tonight," said Glenbard East coach Wayne Hill. "Vaden (Srey) has grown six inches since last year, and he's making huge improvements."

"I was just very proud of the way they came together as a team," said Libertyville coach Josh Cimo. "We hope to have our No. 2 guy (Christian Rittner) back from injury next week, and that will improve our score by five or six points."

Allsbury, who is Mundelein's only varsity gymnast, placed second on floor (9.5), vault (9.4), and pommel horse (8.3) while Glenbrook North's Drew Mutchnik (8.7) placed second on rings. Sullivan placed second on p-bars (9.5) while Valek placed second on high bar (9.2).

" (Allsbury) is starting to get more consistent and starting to improve his routines at the right time to get ready for the second half of the season," said Mundelein coach Jesse Piland. "He made state on four or five events last year, and he has a goal of making state in all six events and placing in the top five in the all-around."