Downers Grove co-op overcomes nerves, wins Fremd’s talent-packed Mari-Rae Sopper Invite

PALATINE – The competition was tough when four of the top five girls gymnastics teams in the state met Saturday afternoon at the Mari-Rae Sopper Invitational hosted by Fremd.

And while top-ranked Downers Grove co-op fell short of the season-high mark of 147.55 points it hit Thursday, the Trostangs were still able to take home the championship of the 11-team meet with 144.85.

New Trier held off Oswego 142.85 to 141.8 for second place while Glenbard West was a close fourth with a season-high score of 141.4 points. Shorthanded St. Charles co-op took fifth place with 139.75 points.

“We had a tough meet today, and we had a lot of jitters and nerves in a different setting. But it was a nice preview of getting the nerves out before the state series with a lot of teams cheering and good camaraderie,” said Downers Grove co-op coach Kristyn Campos, who counted five falls for a loss of 2.5 points.

“We hit vault, but other than that we struggled on the other three events today. We had some uncharacteristic falls, but we have a lot of depth so each meet is competing for a spot in the top five.”

Led by all-around champion Jolee Waddington with 37.65 points (9.41 average), Palatine placed sixth with 134.5 points to edge Antioch/Lakes co-op (134.15) in seventh. The 12-time state champion host Vikings (131.625) placed eighth.

Downers Grove teammates Edith Condon (36.55) and Genevieve Herion (36.5) placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the all-around.

“Today I knew I wanted to hit beam after missing [at Fremd] on Wednesday,” said Waddington, who is committed to play soccer at Eastern Michigan. “I’m just getting ready for the state series and cleaning up my routines.”

Glenbard West’s Nicole Sienkiewicz (36.15) placed sixth overall followed by Antioch/Lakes’ Julia Blasinski (36.05) in seventh, St. Charles’ Jordyn McBride (36.0) in eighth, Downers Grove’s Kaelyn Landry (35.95) in ninth, and St. Charles’ Rachel Nicastro (35.9) in 10th. The Hilltoppers’ Leah Chapski (35.8) tied for 11th in the all-around.

“I’m really excited about how we did. I’m extremely proud of them, and we were 19 for 20 in the meet,” Glenbard West coach Carlos Fuentes said. “It was our highest beam score (35.65), and being able to execute under pressure is going to be important.”

Downers Grove’s Caroline Phillip and Glenbard North’s Jaida Aguayo (34.85) tied for 15th while Fremd’s Megan Boeke (34.375) placed 17th.

“We put some different people in because we had three girls out with injuries who would have competed today,” said St. Charles co-op assistant coach Cynthia Carr. “It was still a good meet, and we got our highest score of the season on uneven bars.”

Landry (9.45) and Condon (9.375) went 1-2 on balance beam while Aguayo (9.55) placed second on vault. Waddington was runner-up on bars (9.55) and floor (9.35). Glenbard West’s Grace Flint (9.3) placed fifth on bars.

“It was a good day for us. We put in a few kids and tried some new stuff,” Palatine coach Terry Theobald said. “We’re going against the top two teams in the state and it was another season-high score for Jolee.”

Sopper was a standout gymnast at Fremd before being named Most Valuable Gymnast at Iowa State University as a senior. Sopper was a victim of the Sept. 11 attacks as a passenger on the hijacked plane that crashed into the Pentagon in 2001.