Girls gymnastics: Prairie Ridge co-op earns team title at Robin Straus Invite

LAKE FOREST – Amanda Hamann of Warren has seen her junior year reach a new level as she earned top honors in the all-around title with a 36.45 at the Robin Straus girls gymnastics invitational on Saturday afternoon at Lake Forest.

Hamann chalked up second place on the bars (9.15), behind champion Paige Magel of Prairie Ridge co-op (9.2). Hamann also had the runner-up spot on vault (9.5) and third-place on floor (9.1).

“Initially, I came into this competition with one goal, to do my double-back on bars, “Hamann said. “I was able to complete it. I was crying in joy, and I was so excited. Vault had been a little interesting this week and I don’t know why. So, I just wanted to powerhouse it and I went for it (Yurchenko layout), and I got the landing.”

Hamann transferred from Carmel to Warren this year and her abilities have gone a lot further than she expected.

“This season has been amazing for me and it’s my best season so far,” Hamann said. “I really have no words for it. It’s just proving that the hard work in the gym and having my teammates with me, it’s paying off.”

Prairie Ridge won the team title with 141.65 without three of its key gymnasts. The Wolves have a lot of depth and it’s shown to this part of the season.

“I thought the girls did phenomenal and they were able to pull together as a team,” Prairie Ridge coach Lexi Redmond said. “We struggled a little bit, but they are strong-willed ladies. They know to put that event behind them and move on. They know how to fight through it.”

Lake Park finished second with a 138.4, Wheaton co-op third (137.975), followed by Warren (136.4), Carmel Catholic (136.05), Geneva (135.5), Lake Forest (133.45), Lyons (128.3), Conant (126.75), Niles West (125.975) and St. Charles co-op (123.175).

“I really wanted to see how we would measure up against some of these teams in our conference and some of these teams that are at the top of the state,” Lake Park coach Jake Luketin said. “We’ve been working on hitting the bars and it was the best all year. I think we’re showing up against some of these better teams and it will be nice to measure up against these teams as we go through the state series.”

The Lancers’ Paula Naronowicz earned top honors on the floor with a 9.15. She also finished fourth in the all-around (35.625),

“Honestly, I’m not one to care about scores,” Naronowicz said. “I just want to go out there and hit everything that I can hit. Just do my best for my team.”

Haylie Hinckley of Wheaton co-op had the top vault by landing her Yurchenko layout for a 9.55. She was also second in the all-around (36.325), second on the floor (9.125) and fourth on the bars (9.0).

“I kind of thought my warmups were really bad,” Hinckley said. “I was really surprised to see that. I just knocked out all my warmups and just listened to all the corrections. It was a very competitive meet out here.”

Prairie Ridge went one-two on the balance beam with Grace Willis first (9.6) and Audrey Burke second (9.45). Willis was also third on vault (9.45) and fourth on floor (8.95). Magel was fourth on vault (9.4) and Burke was fifth (9.3). Burke as also fifth in the all-around (35.2).

Rachel Nicastro of St. Charles co-op placed fourth on the beam (9.125). Graci Weems of Geneva took fifth on beam (9.1) and teammate Kate Nitschke finished fifth on bars (8.95).

https://www.dailyherald.com/sports/20220108/girls-gymnastics-warrens-hamann-continues-to-excel-nabs-all-around-title-at-straus-meet