High school girls gymnastics: Three more medals cap Claire Ginsberg's Geneva career

PALATINE – Geneva senior Claire Ginsberg went out like a champion in her final state gymnastics battle with the balance beam.

Ginsberg solidly hit her first three routines in the preliminaries. Then came beam – the only individual event in which she didn’t qualify after an 8.3 at sectionals – during the all-around at state Feb. 17.

For a fleeting moment after her flip flop layout, Ginsberg appeared destined to fall. Not this time.

“When I landed and fought so hard to stay on, I’m like, ‘Keep fighting,’ and everything went smoothly,” Ginsberg said. “There was no way I was going to fall off.”

Ginsberg’s spirit resonated in hitting all seven state routines and earning three more all-state medals at Palatine High School.

Her 38.00 all-around score was tied for third. In the Feb. 18 event finals, she tied for second on floor exercise (9.55), just .05 from first, was fourth on vault (9.7), and tied for seventh on uneven bars (9.45), .025 points from fifth.

“I pretty much did what I wanted to do. Hitting 7 for 7 is obviously the goal,” Ginsberg said. “Ending on floor was a good way to go out. It’s my favorite event and to be able to hit a good routine and place was just awesome.”

Ginsberg owns Geneva’s lone state championship with the all-around title as a freshman, and has a program-best nine top-five, all-state medals. She might have had more, but she missed the 2016 postseason with labrum surgery.

“She’s such a strong competitor, and with her work ethic, I think she’s the complete athlete,” Geneva coach Kim Hostman said. “She did such an amazing job, especially after all of the rehab and trying to get back to where she needed to be.”

Thanks to her 9.375 on beam, Ginsberg finished .075 from first in all-around and actually did better than her 2014 championship score of 37.875.

Her 9.575 shared the top preliminary floor score with Carmel senior Sammi Lococo, who won the championship with a 9.6 in the finals.

“The competition has gotten better every year,” Ginsberg said. “To be able to keep up is a good thing.”

Geneva’s other state qualifiers were senior Michaela Allen, a first-year team member, in all-around and three events and junior Kelly Frank on beam.

Allen tied for 15th on beam (8.95). She tied for 19th on vault (9.4) and tied for 27th on bars (8.85).

Frank placed 34th on beam (7.65).

Ginsberg contributed to the second-place 2015 state lineup with Frank and the second of Geneva’s three straight state-qualifying teams in 2014. Ginsberg followed older sisters Jenna and 2015 all-stater Grace, who were among her entire family watching the finals.

“It’s a really cool thing to be a part of school history,” Ginsberg said. “With an amazing coach and teammates, it’s always a great day to be a Viking.”

Batavia

Senior Cameron Hindel competed in the vault prelims at the state meet and placed 31st with a 9.2 score.

St. Charles co-op

Juniors Emma Grace Redmond-Mattucci and Grace Levita both competed in the event prelims Feb. 17 at the state meet. Redmond-Mattucci tied for 19th on vault (9.4), was 22nd on uneven bars (9.0), and tied for 27th on beam (8.475). Levita finished 27th on floor with a 9.05 score.