News

By John Bumbales
Daily Herald Correspondent
Posted Sunday, March 25, 2007

Some of the best teams in the state were assembled for the 26-team meet, and Palatine held off state-ranked York 52.3 to 50.75 for the championship.

Glenbard West edged Conant 50.05 to 49.25 for third place followed by Addison Trail (48.9) in fifth, Lincoln-Way Central (47.56) in sixth, and Libertyville (47.45) in seventh.

Fremd (45.55) tied for eighth place with Lake Park while Prospect nipped Mid-Suburban League foe Barrington 43.2 to 42.3 for 11th place.

"We did a very consistent job today and we had no major mistakes," said Palatine coach Scott Hagel, whose team is ranked No. 1 in the state. "This meet shows a little bit of your depth, and we hit about five of six routines today."

With each team only allowed to put up one gymnast on each of the six events, consistency and depth were a huge factor in the outcome Saturday.

Tyler Yee helped carry the Pirates to the title with a first-place 9.25 on floor as Yee edged runner-up Clinton Martin (9.2) of Conant.

Christian Carmona of York placed first on still rings with a 9.7 while Fremd's Dave Mohr was a close second with a 9.65. Mohr set a Fremd school record Thursday with a 9.8 on pommel horse in a meet at Schaumburg.

"We did pretty good today, and we hit about three or four routines out of six," said Fremd coach Jim Guest. "We brought up a couple of freshmen to fill some spots today, they did a good job, and it was good experience for them."

Libertyville's Scott Brzezinski took runner-up honors on floor exercise with a 9.3 to nip Barrington's Kellen O'Connor with a third-place 9.2.

"These guys competed like champions, and they were 5-for-6 on routines,' said Libertyville coach Curt Austin, whose team was competing in the Avigliano Invite for the first time. "We've got decent depth and obviously this is a fun meet. But they have to be supportive of each other if we are ultimately going to get to the state meet."

Sean Somers added a second-place 8.85 for Libertyville on high bar while Palatine's Matt Eckardt was third on high bar with an 8.8.

Barrington's Jaime Torano posted an 8.4 for third place on parallel bars while Palatine's Dan Laabs (8.3) placed fourth on that event.

Prospect's Blake Self (8.3) placed fourth on pommel horse followed by Conant's Chris Chong (8.2) in fifth, and Palatine's Matt Aerts (8.1) in sixth.

"I think three meets in a row hurt our guys and the guys who hit yesterday did not hit today," said Conant coach Paul Kim. "Only two out of our six hit and just on our falls alone we lost 2 to 3 points today."

Chas Stewart placed sixth on vault for Libertyville with an 8.9 while Palatine's Kendale Coats (8.85) placed sixth on floor exercise. Prospect's Chris Mattes 9.05 placed sixth on still rings.

"We did alright, and Mattes" 9.05 on still rings was the best he's ever done," said Prospect coach Pat Kivland. "Blake Self made a critical mistake on his pommel horse dismount, but he will be good by the end of the year."