Boys gymnastics: Serwatkiewicz eyes one more meet at home

Alex Serwatkiewicz wants to go home one more time.

The Hoffman Estates senior competed in what could be his final home meet Friday at the Hawk invite in Hoffman Estates.

Or is it?

There is no place Serwatkiewicz and is Hoffman teammates would rather be in second weekend in May. That's when Hoffman Estates hosts the boys state gymnastics finals.

Serwatkiewicz has been to the state finals last year as an individual. He did not compete as a freshman. Gymnastics was shut down his sophomore year due to COVID. But he would love to have his teammates join him in competing for the team title.

"It would be an amazing opportunity for us if we made it," Serwatkiewicz said. "The sport of gymnastics is all about teamwork."

Hoffman Estates has not been to the state finals since 2000. But this could be the year that the Hawks fly through that barrier. They showed why that is possible on Friday.

Hoffman scored a season-best 148.60 to win its invitational. The Hawks were able to hold off Palatine, which scored a 148.40.

"We are peaking at the right time," Hoffman Estates coach Ryan Brown, Jr. said. "There are skills we have been working on, but not competing. They are hitting them in practice, so now they are going into the routine."

Serwatkiewicz had a huge meet for the Hawks. He scored a 55.90 to finish second in the all-around.

At 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds, Serwatkiewicz is built more like a linebacker than a gymnast. But that hasn't stopped him from winning the high bar with a career-best 9.70. He also won the parallel bars with a 9.70 while tying for the vault with a 9.60 and the floor with a 9.40.

"My high bar the best I ever did," Serwatkiewicz said. "I landed my double back flip with a twist on my dismount. It felt great when I hit it."

Serwatkiewicz, along with Teddy Prasopoulos, Owen Carlson, Adrian Zhou and Adrian Sanchez, has been on a roll the past few weeks. The Hawks have improved in their last two meets by two points in each of those meets. And with just the MSL conference meet next Friday before sectionals on May 4, the timing couldn't be better.

"I told the guys that if I am going to be here away from son, that they have to make it worth it," Brown said. "So they have stepped up. So they are not just doing it for themselves, but for me and my son."

Palatine was a bit short-handed, with some of their gymnasts missing due to other commitments. But that didn't bother Palatine coach Scott Hagel.

"We are very short-handed," said Hagel, who credited Jack Hamman and Ricardo Vital for stepping up.

"It was a good test for our first and second guys up. They usually don't have a chance of counting. So, it was good to see them have a little bit of pressure."

The Pirates got another solid effort from Trey Wilcox and Dominic Filichia. Wilcox won the all-around title with a 56.00 while Filichia was third with a 52.30.

Wilcox won the pommel horse with a 9.30 and the rings with a 9.00. He tied for first on the vault with a 9.60 and the floor with a 9.40.

"I was really happy," Wilcox said. "I had a solid all-around. Today was nice finisher in the gym where state is. So it is a perfect place to wrap things up."

Filichia had his best high bar routine of the season with a 9.10.

"It feels real good to get a new trick in my routine," Filichia said. "Most of my other routines have been pretty consistent but nothing new. But high bar was good."