Gymnastics: Mia LaFratta picks up a pair of wins as Wheaton co-op beats Geneva

Specialist Mia LaFratta knows her role on the Wheaton co-op gymnastics team is to focus on what she can do to stay on the beam and to make her score soar like she does from the uneven parallel bars.

Competing in a rare Thursday meet at lunchtime against Geneva in DuKane Conference action, LaFratta won both events as Wheaton co-op outscored the Vikings, 140.9 to 134.75.

“It was a great meet,” she said. “I was very happy with my bar routine and also very happy to have stayed on beam. I did a new leap today on beam, a switch half, so that was exciting. Overall, it was a good meet.”

Senior Haylie Hinckley scored a 36.65 to sneak past Geneva sophomore Reese Lackey’s 36 to win the all-around. Hinckley had the afternoon’s best vault with a 9.45 and finished the meet with a 9.3 on floor to place second. Hinckley won the state title on floor last season while finishing fifth in the state in the all-around.

“Vault was a good high point for me,” she said. “I fell on the first one as the adrenaline got to me, but the second one was pretty good. It was my second time competing the tuck full so I was excited to land it.”

Jordan Wach, yet another of Wheaton co-op’s prized seniors, scored a 35.5 in the all-around to contribute to the team total in all four events. The team also received three scores from Marlee Larson, a pair from junior Elli Macellaio as well as Rylee Baaske’s 8.5 on vault.

“I felt the girls did well,” Wheaton co-op coach Maureen Kermend said. “Now they’re putting in some of their new skills. We were missing Sammie Purser, who does beam, floor and vault typically.”

It’s been a particularly strong season already for the co-op which most recently won the Oswego’s Tumble for the Troops Invitational on Dec. 28 with a 141.45.

“That was a really good meet,” Wach said. “Everyone had a great attitude going into it and just the entire time no one was upset with warmups, which was great because sometimes we have problems with that. I think everyone was like, ‘Wow, I’m ready for this,’ and then we just kind of hit. We had some falls, it’s going to happen, but nobody let it bring us all down so I think it was a really great meet.”

In addition to pacing the Vikings in the all-around, Lackey won floor with a 9.35.

“I had fun on floor,” she said. “Just in general it’s a lot of fun watching my team on floor, and it felt pretty good to get out there and just hit when I need to hit and the same with everybody else.”

Beam plagued the Vikings.

“We didn’t have our best showing on beam so we have a lot of points we can make up there,” Geneva coach Kim Hostman said. “So I’m super excited with what the potential could be if we could hit at least four out of five in every event. All in all I think they did a good job. It’s hard with the holidays to stay focused but they did a really good job.”

Freshman Julia Swierczewski led the Vikings on vault with a 9.1, Brooke Lussnig led the squad on bars with an 8.8 and Lackey matched LaFratta’s 9.2 on beam.

Lussnig (34.3), Swierczewski (33.05) and Ava Mehren (29.0) each contributed as all-rounders.

“It was different being here today and now having one day of practice before Saturday’s (Lake Forest invitational),” Lussnig said. “We want to see how we’ve improved after the holidays and stuff. I’m just ready to see what the team can do by the end of the season.”