MM_022218

36 | February 22, 2018 | The Mokena Messenger sports
mokenamessenger.com
Athlete of the Week
10 Questions
with Abi Baumgartner
Girls Gymnastics
Experienced unit
finishes seventh at state
Junior Abi Baumgartner is
a forward on the Lincoln-
Way Central girls basketball
team. Since Christmas, she
is averaging 16.0 points and
11.8 rebounds per game.
How did you get started
in basketball?
I started at a really young
age because my mom played
in college. So, she started me
and my sisters in the game at
like 3 or 4 years old.
What’s your favorite
aspect of the game?
I like defense more because
it’s more of a team
aspect and communicating.
And when you get stops,
steals or blocks, it just kind
of pumps you up more than
scoring, I think.
What’s your ideal postgame
meal?
I usually like coming
home and eating spaghetti,
just because I like my carbs.
If you won the lottery,
what’s the first thing
you’d buy?
I would probably help my
parents pay for all my college,
and put the rest into
savings and see where I
would need it in life.
Who has been your
inspiration in life?
I’d say my mom has always
been my inspiration
because when I’m down on
myself, she always seems to
keep me up. She always motivates
me and makes me get
out of my head, so I could
continue to push harder to
become better.
What’s one of your
favorite memories
playing basketball?
There’s been so many, but
I think my best memory was
in seventh-grade. I was on
the South Suburban Wildcats,
and we played up in
eighth-grade tournaments.
We went undefeated, except
losing five games the entire
summer. It was a really good
season.
What is the most
challenging part of the
sport?
I think it’s more of the
mental aspect, where if you
make a bad play or get frustrated,
you have to get out
of your own head and not
go down the wrong path
throughout the game. You
just got to keep yourself up
and your team motivated as
a leader.
If you could own any
exotic pet, what would
it be?
Probably a giraffe because
I’ve always found them so
interesting. It’s not something
you’d expect to see in
someone’s backyard every
day.
What life lessons could
you take away from
basketball?
The team aspect of working
together and communicating
with other people,
Photo submitted
I think it got me to come
out of my shell because I
was shy as a kid. Also, being
able to take over and
communicate your thoughts
through words and make
impulse decisions in game
help me think quick off my
feet.
If you could pick anyone
to play with you in
a 3-on-3 game, who
would it be?
I’d probably pick my
mom because she’s just so
quick. She could still almost
jump higher than me.
And then I’d pick my friend
Livvy Villa because we’ve
been playing with each other
since fourth-grade. She’s a
lifelong friend.
Interview by Editor T.J. Kremer,
III.
Chris Walker
Freelance Reporter
Teams usually have to be
at their best during their respective
sectional in order
to advance to the IHSA girls
gymnastics state finals.
That makes it a huge accomplishment
to be even
better at state.
Lincoln-Way co-op was
in that select company Saturday,
Feb. 17, in Palatine,
and other than runner-up
Prairie Ridge co-op, which
had won the previous three
state titles, Lincoln-Way
was the most improved
from sectional to state.
The team finished in seventh
place with 144.025
points after scoring a
143.2 in the Sandburg
Sectional for an increase
of 0.825.
It was fantastic finish for
a senior-laden team that
has been fortunate and talented
enough to compete
in the state finals for two
straight years after the program
hadn’t done so since
2008.
“It’s definitely been nice
and we’ve created a legacy
now,” senior Una Farrell
said. “We’ve been able to
build the team up to a dream
team and had a lot of accomplishments.”
Lincoln-Way came to the
state finals with a mathematical
chance of winning
the state title, but not much
more than that. It’s usually
how it goes for most
of the teams in the field
in gymnastics, especially
when you have a couple
teams consistently scoring
about five points higher
than you.
“Coming in we had the
lowest sectional score so
we had an idea where we
stood so we were hoping to
break that 145 overall,” Farrell
said. “I know especially
for me and the seniors that
our mindset was to have fun
and make some memories.
For most of us it was our
last meet and ends our high
school careers so we spent
a lot of time in the back
[warm-up] room thinking
about that.”
Glenbard West won its
first state title with a 150.05
ending runner-up Prairie
Ridge co-op’s three-year
title run.
Farrell and fellow seniors
Gabby DeVito, Erica Dice,
Madi Flondor, Jesse Smith
and Sabrina Wenk all competed
for the final time for
Lincoln-Way co-op.
Farrell was the team’s
lone all-around representative
who also qualified to
compete in the all-around
competition. She finished
in 21st place with a 36.2.
Just how young and talented
was the all-around
field this year? Farrell was
one of only three senior allarounders
to compete in the
state. Glenbard West junior
Maddie Diab won the allaround
for the second time,
scoring a 38.025.
Flondor competed in
three events, scoring a 9.1
on vault, 9.05 on beam and
8.675 on bars.
The team’s remaining
seniors were single-event
specialists. Dice had the
a 9.375 on vault, Gabby
DeVito earned an 8.85 on
vault, Wenk had an 8.275
on bars and Smith did not
compete.
Freshman Grace Kmak
saw action in all four events
with a 9.175 on floor, 9.075
on vault, 9.1 on beam and
8.25 on bars. Sophomore
Korina Jarosz was most impressive
on vault with a 9.5,
but also had a 9.15 on floor
and 9.05 on bars. Fellow
sophomores Erika Waaso
and Allie Reis also got involved.
Reis had a 9.125 on
floor and Waaso earned an
8.25 on beam.
“We all tried to go in
there and hit our routines
and do the best that we
could,” Jarosz said. “We
knew the judging was going
to be tight so we tried to be
as clean as possible on our
routines and go out there
and have fun.”
The team’s score of
37.225 on vault was one of
the highlights.
“It’s been a favorite event
all year and we had one
of our highest all-around
scores,” Jarosz said. “That
was a lot of fun and we
were able to think about
the seniors. They’ve kind
of carried most of the
team so with them leaving
we wanted to finish
strong.”
The 2018-19 team will
certainly have a different
look with six seniors graduating,
but knows what newcomers
will step and make
an impact, especially with
the sport loaded state-wide
with talented underclassmen.
In related team news, the
Illinois High School Girls
Gymnastics Association
awarded Assistant Coach
of the Year to Lincoln-Way
co-op assistant coach Kory
Thompson for the second
consecutive season.