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GENEVA – Seated on the cushy confines of the floor exercise mat, Geneva girls gymnasts fixed their eyes and ears on one more awards ceremony at the Mack Olson gym.
Or was it one last awards ceremony? Wednesday’s Geneva Regional marked the final time the Vikings will compete at home this season, and the night ended like so many others.
Geneva comfortably earned a spot in Tuesday's Glenbard North Sectional, its 146.425 team score topping the runner-up U-46 co-op by nearly 16 points. As with last week's Upstate Eight Conference meet here, the Vikings ascended the podium far more than any opponent.
Wherever they go, it doesn’t get old.
“We do win a lot, but I think it really is just from our hard work,” Geneva sophomore Julia Grootens said. “So it’s not like we’re just easily winning. We have to put in the work. We’re still proud of ourselves when we do it. It’s not the usual.”
Classmate Claire Ginsberg scored a 38.0 to win the all-around, topping her older sister, Grace, who was runner-up with a 35.575.
Claire Ginsberg took individual titles in all four disciplines – vault (9.35), bars (9.525), beam (9.675) and floor (9.45). She added a new skill to the vault, creating a higher potential starting point value.
“We just have to keep our bodies healthy, be confident going in and keep working hard,” said Ginsberg, whose 38.1 all-around score claimed the UEC title last week.
Geneva finished first through fourth on the vault and beam, with the beam its highest aggregate team total at 37.325. Last week, Geneva scored a 36.6 on beam en route to the UEC title.
Claire Ginsberg called the conference score a breakthrough and a “big confidence-booster,” crediting diligent workout regimens and copious practice repetitions.
“Pretty much just focus,” she said. “We’ve been working on staying on as a team. It requires a lot of focus and just numbers (of reps).”
A solid grasp of the calendar helps, too. The Vikings, mirroring many teams, view conference as a dress rehearsal for the state series.
“The camaraderie and the strength that we have going into the postseason is really strong,” Geneva coach Kim Hostman said. “We’re still adding a couple skills, so that’s helping. We could have done a little bit better on floor just sticking landings and stuff, but all in all, our goal today was to win and to hit big, and we did.”
Several Vikings know the drill from last season, when Claire Ginsberg earned the state all-around title and current senior co-captains Grace Ginsberg and Megan Beitzel helped Geneva place fifth among eight teams.
Geneva sensed a chance to climb the team standings given Claire Ginsberg’s development and the maturity of its seniors. Last month, the state gap ostensibly tightened further when standout Riley Mahoney of the Prairie Ridge co-op suffered a season-ending ACL tear, dealing a blow to a fellow state contender.
Of course, Geneva hasn’t exactly been able to coast in the interim. Not with Beitzel and Grace Ginsberg lending persistent tutelage to freshmen Lily Chapman, Holly Friedel, Bailey Pihera, Molly Lambillotte and Kelly Frank.
“Grace and Megan, I’ve really liked their positivity,” said Grootens, a first-time prep gymnast who had a club background in the sport before shifting to tumbling. “They’ve just kept the team really strong and on days we don’t really want to practice, they’ve just motivated us.”