Sports
Red Devils Gymnasts Win Regional Despite Shaky Performance
Head coach Kim Estoque said it was apparent some of her girls were competing in their first big meet Wednesday night.
Red Devils junior Erin Morgan topped the field in three of four events Wednesday night en route to a first-place all-around finish at the IHSA Regional, where the Red Devils took first place as a team and advanced four individuals to the sectional they will host in Hinsdale Monday night.
“We actually didn’t have that great of a meet,” head coach Kim Estoque said. “But it was good for the girls to get the nerves out on this one.”
Morgan finished first in floor exercise (9.45), beam (9.4), and uneven parallel bars (8.95), and her 9.0 on vault was good for third. Morgan’s all-around score of 36.8 was one point better than Lincoln-Way East Co-op senior Kaitlyn Neiheisel, who finished second with a 35.8.
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With top-5 finishes across the board, Morgan will have the opportunity to qualify for state in all events at Monday’s sectional.
Red Devils sophomore Cayley Brenk finished second in vault (9.2), third in bars (8.625), and third all-around (34.775), meaning she’ll have an opportunity to qualify for state in those three competitions. Brenk tied for sixth in beam (8.35), and seventh in floor (8.6) Wednesday.
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Freshman Maddie Sesemann and sophomore Emma Christoph advanced to sectionals with fourth-place finishes in vault and floor, respectively. Sesemann notched an 8.975 on the vault; Christoph recorded an 8.675 on floor.
“Emma and Maddie have come a long way to improving our scores,” Estoque said.
Juniors Annie Zircher and Hannah Kapelinski didn’t qualify for any individual events but will compete for the team at sectionals.
Estoque said Wednesday’s was the first big meet for a lot of the girls, and it showed.
“We had some falls on vault, everyone fell on beam, and bars we had some falls,” Estoque said. “We had a lot of falls.”
The coach expects a cleaner performance Monday night. She wants at least one Red Devil to qualify for state, but hasn't ruled out a team qualification yet.
"There is a chance for the team if we hit and don’t let our nerves get to us," Estoque said.
Lincoln-Way East Co-op qualified four individuals for sectionals out of Wednesday’s meet and Shepard High School qualified one.
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