FS_021617

54 | February 16, 2017 | The frankfort station Sports
frankfortstation.com
Lincoln-Way handily wins sectional to advance to state
Frank Gogola
Freelance Reporter
Lincoln-Way co-op and
Sandburg co-op girls gymnastics
dominated at the Oswego
Sectional in their own
ways.
Lincoln-Way’s depth
helped it win the sectional
championship despite the
team having its worst scoring
performance of the
postseason Thursday, Feb.
9, at Oswego High School.
Junior Una Farrell qualified
for state as an individual in
all five events, while junior
Gabby DeVito, sophomore
Barb Belka and freshman
Korina Jarosz qualified in
one event each.
“I’m just proud of the girls
and proud of the season,”
said Lincoln-Way coach Kim
Lago. “They’ve fought so
hard this season. We had a
huge injury (junior Maddie
Flondor) in December, and
the girls just kept fighting
through and came together as
a team. It just was amazing.”
After finishing second at
sectional the past two years,
Lincoln-Way won its first
sectional title since the 2005-
06 season. The program will
be making its first state appearance
as a team since the
2007-08 season.
“I can’t wait,” Farrell
said of going to state with
the team after qualifying as
an individual the past two
seasons. “It’s going to be so
much fun just because everybody’s
going to be there.
We’re one big, happy family.
I’m just so happy I get
to experience this with all of
them.”
Lincoln-Way’s 144.075
points were 3.875 points better
than second-place Downers
Grove South’s 140.200.
Lincoln-Way posted the best
team score in vault (36.625),
floor (36.275), bars (35.800)
and beam (35.375).
The 144.075 is a drop
from its regional-winning
score of 145.475, which was
down from a season-high
145.95 to win the South-
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Lincoln-Way’s sectional title is the team’s first since the
2007-2008 season.
West Suburban Conference
championship. It is also the
lowest score of the four sectional
winners: DeKalb put
up a 148.575, Prairie Ridge
posted a 147.850 and Glenbrook
South had a 145.450.
The second-half run has
continued without Flondor,
who suffered a season-ending
knee injury in December.
She was in her first season
competing for Lincoln-Way
after coming over from club
gymnastics, and she was expected
to be an all-arounder.
“She would show up to
practices and push us and
make sure that we were
working hard,” Farrell said.
“We needed to make sure
that we wouldn’t let her
down because she worked so
hard for us.”
Farrell took third in allaround
(36.475), finishing
0.025 points behind the firstplace
tie (36.500) between
Sandburg’s Maddie Giglio
and Lyons Township’s Olivia
Kalata. She placed fourth
on beam (9.075), tied for
fourth on floor (9.200), took
fifth on bars (8.925) and tied
for fifth on vault (9.275).
Last year, Farrell placed
28th at state on beam. She
finished 32nd on vault as a
freshman.
“This is finally her moment
to shine,” Lago said.
“She knows what to expect,
having been at the state series
for two years. For her,
this is the big part of the season,
this is her exciting part,
where for others it’s a lot of
nerves.”
Junior Gabby DeVito
placed fourth on vault
(9.300) to advance to state
for the second straight season.
She finished 26th on
floor at state last season.
Sophomore Barb Belka
earned her first trip to state
with a second-place finish
on floor (9.300). It’s her first
year competing for Lincoln-
Way after she spent last year
on a club team.
Freshman Korina Jarosz
will also be making her state
debut after taking second
on bars (9.325). Jarosz, the
SWSC all-around champion,
finished 11th in all-around
(34.800).
“We have yet to have a
meet where we hit five-forfive
routines,” Lago said.
“That’s really our goal at
state is to show everybody
that hey, Lincoln-Way is a
great program, and we’re
somebody that everybody’s
going to have to watch out
for.”
Lincoln-Way’s Barb Belka performs her floor routine
Thursday, Feb. 9, during the Oswego Sectional.
Photos by Mark Korosa/22nd Century Media
Una Farrell, who will make her third consecutive trip to
state, competes in the vault.
Sandburg, the only other
area team at the sectional,
had a gymnast win all five
events, but the top-heavy,
young Eagles finished fifth
out of six as a team. Freshman
Maddie Giglio won the
all-around title, and she and
junior Maddy Roe qualified
for state as individuals in
four events each.
“The two of them together
give us a great 1-2 punch,”
Sandburg coach Mike White
said.
He added: “This is valuable
experience, especially
for those younger ones who
had some falls tonight. We
had seven falls last week,
so I said, ‘Let’s try and cut
it in half,’ and we had eight
on the first event on beam.
That made it easier for me
to lighten the load and say,
‘Let’s have a little fun with
this, let’s work on what we
need to work on.’”
The highest-scoring team
and top five individuals automatically
qualified for
state. At-large advancers
will be announced on the
IHSA website.