36 | February 6, 2020 | the new lenox patriot new lenox newlenoxpatriotdaily.com
newlenoxpatriotdaily.com sports the new lenox patriot | February 6, 2020 | 37 Cheerleading 4 LW West, Providence, LW Central all advance to state RANDY WHALEN Freelance Reporter Lincoln-Way West’s cheerleading team just keeps moving up. After qualifying for state for the first time in the large school division a year ago and placing fourth, the Warriors nearly finished first at the Joliet Sectional on Saturday, Feb. 1. Instead, they finished second (92.03) just behind perennial power Sandburg (92.43). 2018 state champion Joliet West (91.67) was third, followed by Andrew (90.39) and Minooka (88.92) rounding out the top five state-qualifying teams. "Last year, we had a brand new team and this season we have a lot of returners," Lincoln-Way West coach Nicole White said. "That experience paid off. We're very happy with the team's commitment and growth. That extra year together has paid off. We made it out [to state]and now go from there." The state finals are set for Friday, Feb. 7, and Saturday, Feb. 8, at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington. The Warrior seniors are Amiyah Chapman, Erica Johnson, Erika Meadows, Andrea Ridgway, Alyssa Saso, Emmi Scofield, and Isabella Telez. There are also seven juniors: Kayla Aspel, Kalei Belt, Emily Hill, Jordan Kittl, Payton Malpeli, Madison Raleigh, and Grace Rinke. Emily Lynch and Peyton Wilson are the sophomores, while Caroline Klee, Aubrey Lenard, Maeve McNamee and Rachel Turay are freshmen. "I'm excited to be going back to state with my friends," Ridgway said. "Our goal is to work on bettering our routine and get to Day 2 at state and see where we can move up from there." Ridgway and Johnson are four-year varsity members. "I'm really excited," Johnson agreed. "Overall state is a great experience and this gives us another week of practice together. We have an amazing team." In the medium school division, Providence placed fifth and grabbed the final state-qualifying spot. Six-time state champion Lemont (89.58) won the sectional, followed by Oak Forest (89.29), Tinley Park (88.31), and Brooks (87.04). Providence (86.17) edged Marian Catholic (85.83) for the fifth and final spot. That made the Celtics very happy as they have not been to state since 2017. It was especially exciting for Ariana Wydajewski. One of three seniors on the team, she was at state as a freshman but was unable to perform. "I've battled a couple of injuries this season, too," Wydajewski said. "But these younger girls are like my younger sisters. I'm just glad I get to spend more time with them." The other two seniors are Chloe Floeckher and Jordyn Swenson. "I was on the floor freshman year at state and now we're back," Floeckher said. "It was everyone just working hard and coming together." The rest of the team is made up of juniors Hayle Hitterman, Aubrey Hoff, Grace Milas, and Stefanie Rodriguez, sophomores Shelby Gloss, Gabbie Lacheta, Alexis Madler, Sophia Nakos and Chloe Pavlis, and freshmen Abaigeal Bandyk, Brideigh Cavanaugh, Emily Gacek, Abigail Hoff, Marissa Majewski, Marissa Massaro and Savannah Sullivan. At the Farmington Sectional, Lincoln-Way Central punched its ticket to state with a second-place finish in the large division. The Knights (94.57) finished behind Lincoln-Way East (97.16). Girls Gymnastics Lincoln-Way wins 11th straight SWSC title 6 RANDY WHALEN Freelance Reporter A new coach, the same result for the Lincoln-Way co-op girls gymnastics team. Kory Thompson took over as coach this season and Lincoln-Way once again captured the South- West Suburban Conference meet on Jan. 29 at Andrew. It was the 11th straight season and 12th time (2007- 08 was the other) since the SWSC formed in the 2005- 06 season that the team has won it. Lincoln-Way (143.3) outdistanced the Andrew co-op team (138.5), which includes athletes from Sandburg and Stagg. Homewood-Flossmoor (123.825) was third in the three-team league. “The kids work hard and it’s good to see them take well to the change,” said Thompson, a former assistant who took over for Kim Lago, who had been the head coach for the previous six seasons. “Not only have the girls been working hard, they have been focusing on little things and pushing themselves. “We have a lot of depth. We are trying to figure out the last pieces as a team for the postseason.” Lincoln-Way was set to host a regional Tuesday, Feb. 4. Lincoln-Way has won a regional and sectional title the past three seasons and advanced to state. With the balanced results the team produced at the conference meet, another state team trip is very possible. Senior Korina Jarosz and junior Grace Kmak tied for second in the all-around, each scoring 36.55, just two tenths behind senior Taylor Talley (36.75), who repeated as the all-around champion for Andrew. “It’s very cool that we could both share that,” Jarosz said. “We are very close-knit and all friends on the team. We wanted to go out and show that. Getting back to state is our goal.” Kmak agreed. “We all had confidence and the team did very well,” she said. “We are all very excited and ready to put it on the floor for our future meets.” Kmak was the only Lincoln-Way champion on the day as she won the balance beam with a 9.4. Jarosz, with an even 9, was second, Allie Reis (8.55) and Lexi Wikert (8.375) were fourth and fifth as Lincoln- Way nailed down four of the top five spots. In the floor exercise, Lincoln-Way gymnasts Kmak (9.2), Lucy Haas (9.175), Jarosz (9.175), and Reis (9.075) took third through sixth. On the vault, Kmak tied Talley for first with a 9.35. Jarosz (9.325) was right behind in third. Skylar Koczor (9.050) placed fifth, Olivia Gonda (8.925) sixth and Emerson Collins (8.775) eighth as Lincoln- Way had five of the top eighth Lincoln-Way’s Grace Kmak competes at the SouthWest Suburban Conference meet Jan. 29. Kmak tied for second in the all-around and won the balance beam. JEFF VORVA/22ND CENTURY MEDIA That was also the case in the uneven bars. Jarosz (9.050) was second, Gonda (8.6) and Kmak (8.6) tied for third, Natalie Hrkel (8.45) tied for fifth, and Reis (8.1) was eighth. “Grace and Korina did great, especially to tie and only be two tenths of a point out of the allaround,” Thompson said. “This team has really had fun because they work together. We went undefeated (4-0) in our dual meets this season and did well at the invites, including [on Jan. 18] winning the Neuqua Valley Invite.”