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newlenoxpatriot.com sports
the New Lenox Patriot | December 8, 2016 | 41
Girls Gymnastics
Deep Lincoln-Way gymnastics co-op overwhelms Sandburg-Stagg
Frank Gogola
Freelance Reporter
Lincoln-Way co-op gymnastics
coach Kim Lago believes
this year’s squad is the
deepest team she’s had in her
four years leading the program.
Lincoln-Way opened the
season by beating Sandburg/
Stagg co-op 140.6-126.95
Nov. 29 at Lincoln-Way East.
Even without its top gymnasts
competing in all events,
that depth helped them overcome
the performance of
Sandburg junior Maddy Roe,
a returning state qualifier,
who won two events and tied
for first in another.
Lincoln-Way outscored
Sandburg in all four events,
despite having an individual
win only one event outright.
It won 35.1-30.2 on bars,
34.95-30.9 on floor, 35.2-32
on beam and 35.35-33.85 on
vault.
But when the team gets
to full strength, Lago said
she believes they have the
depth of talent to get to the
145-point mark she wants to
see.
“I told the girls that if they
don’t get it done in practice,
they’re not going to be out
there,” Lago said. “The expectations
are set a little higher
this year because we have
more talent than we have in
the past, so I need them to
step it up and produce the
routines I want to see.”
Junior Una Farrell finished
tied for first on bars
(9.1), second on vault (9.15)
and third on beam (8.8), an
event in which she placed
28th at state last season. She
will add floor as the season
goes on, Lago said.
Junior Gabby DeVito finished
third on bars (8.8) and
tied for fourth on vault (8.6).
DeVito sat out the floor
event, which she placed 26th
in at state last season.
Lincoln-Way West’s Gabby DeVito finished fourth on vault
Nov. 29 during a meet against Sandburg-Stagg.
Lincoln-Way Central’s Barb Belka performs her floor
exercise routine.
Junior Madi Flondor, who
made her high school debut
after competing in club gymnastics,
finished second on
beam (9.1) and floor (8.75)
and tied for fourth on vault
(8.6). Lago expects her to
add bars.
On floor, junior Barb
Belka won (9.0) in her lone
event, while sophomore
Korina Jarosz placed third
(8.65). Jarosz also took third
on vault (9.0).
Senior Kara Auchstetter,
a sectional qualifier on
beam, took fourth (8.7) in
the event.
Sandburg was led Roe,
who won on beam (9.4) and
vault (9.3) and tied for first
on bars (9.1). Roe’s fifthplace
finish on floor (8.35)
was a team high. She said
she “panicked” and “freaked
out” when she forgot the
floor routine she was performing
for the first time
after not cleanly pulling off
her first landing.
“It was a little improv,”
Roe said.
“She was a hot mess on
the floor,” Sandburg assistant
coach Krystyn Misheck
said.
Roe’s day started by crashing
into coach Mike White,
who was spotting her on bars.
She transferred from the low
bar to the high bar and hit
White in the back of the thigh
with her hip on the swing
through. White ducked under
the low bar to get to the other
side of the high bar instead of
going around.
“I’ve never ducked under
like that,” White said.
“I just thought I could get
there, and I was wrong. We
both laughed it off and just
Lincoln-Way West junior Una Farrell finished third on beam (8.8) in a meet Nov. 29 against
Sandburg-Stagg. Photos by Mark Korosa/22nd Century Media
Lincoln-Way West senior Kara Auchstetter dismounts the bars Nov. 29. Auchstetter was
honored during Senior Night.
moved on from there. A lot
of kids would get shook and
it would just turn their whole
day off and nothing would
go right the rest of the day.”
Roe is coming off a season
in which she placed eighth
at state on vault and 11th on
beam. She took ninth allaround
at state after placing
21st in all-around as a freshman.
Outside of Roe, no other
Sandburg gymnast placed
in the top three in any event.
Sandburg junior Toni Muzzo,
a sectional qualifier last
year, didn’t join the team
this year, instead focusing on
getting a scholarship in pole
vaulting, Misheck said.
“It’s hard with just two
weeks and us not having
a gym to practice over the
summer, so they did pretty
well for what we’ve been
given,” Misheck said. “They
surprised me on beam with
how confident they looked.
Floor and bars is endurance,
so that’s just getting reps.”
Lincoln-Way junior Jess
Smith, a sectional qualifier
on vault and beam, and senior
Anjelica Werning were
not ready for the season
opener, Lago said.
The team also recognized
Auchstetter, Werning
and Mika Adamson before
the competition for Senior
Night.