Susan Fosco, Resurrection`s gymnastics coach, had not been happy with her girls` performance on the balance beam. So the team spent all of Wednesday`s practice working on the balance beam alone.
But after Sheryl Kurowski finished first in the balance beam with a 9.3 to help lead Resurrection to a 143.10 point first-place finish in Saturday`s Hersey Invitational, Fosco reacted just the way you might expect.
She beamed.
”We spent so much time practicing not falling off the beam this week,”
Fosco said, with a well-deserved smile. ”Our goal was to do better in that event and we did. I`m real pleased with the girls.”
Fosco had to be most pleased with Kurowski, who won the all-around with a 37.50 and finished first in the vaulting and the uneven bars.
In vaulting, Kurowski completed one pike and one layout Tsukahara. After a perfect landing on the layout, Kurowski pumped her clenched fist into the air. She knew what the judges were about to tell her: 9.4.
On the uneven bars, her best event, Kurowski matched her score of 9.7 in last year`s state meet.
”I`m heading in the right direction,” Kurowski said. ”My downfall has been my execution. Today I had better execution and I kept my knees bent and my toes pointed. But my goal is still to get a 38 all-around this season.”
Addison Trail, headed by the tandem of Penny Kunsman (fourth in the all around) and Leticia Dennis (fifth in the all around), finished second in the invitational with a 138.80.
Kelli Phillips finished third in the all-around (36.6) to pace Naperville North to a 134.4 third-place finish.
The one event Kurowski failed to win was floor exercise, which Hersey`s Diane Sojoodi took with a 9.4. Sojoodi finished second in the all-around with a 36.8 and had an outside chance for a first-place finish if she could have turned in a dazzling outing on the balance beam.
But she had a couple of bobbles.
”It`s a little upsetting,” Sojoodi said, ”because I stick those routines in practice. But it`s still early in the season.”
Though Sojoodi finished first in the floor exercise, Fosco was still beaming over her girls floor exercise performances, primarily that of Nicki Tader, the second-place finisher with a 9.3.
”Our floor set is one of the best in the state,” Fosco said. ”We do a great job of combining artistic gymnastics and nice tumbling.”
Rich South Invitational-Senior Cindy Giroux won three events and placed first in all-around with a total of 36.5 to lead Lincoln-Way (138.35) to first place.
Giroux won the vault (9.3), the balance beam (8.8) and the uneven parallel bars (9.4) enroute to her convincing all-around victory over teammate Diane Pearson (34.3 all-around score) and Marian Catholic`s Deidra Opiola
(34.55).
Lincoln-Way coach Donna Jagman said Giroux, who was suffering from a bruised knee, a jammed finger and other minor injuries, came through with an admirable performance.
”Cindy`s an elite gymnast,” said Jagman. ”She forgot about the pain and came up with some nice routines.”
Sandburg finished second in the invitational with a score of 130.2, and Tinley Park came in third with 125.4.
Glenbrook North Invitational-New Trier (104.6), Willowbrook (102.7) and host Glenbrook North (101.65) finished first, second and third. Downers Grove North, paced by all-around winner Missy Olson (36.45), finished fourth with a total score of 100.75.
SWIMMING
Barrington Relays-In the Red Division, St. Charles (122) took the title by winning five events, including the 800 freestyle relay in a time of 7:36.99 and the 400 individual medley in 3:54.61. The Saints also won the 200 freestyle (1:31.12), the 300 butterfly relay (2:44.04) and the 300
breaststroke relay (3:06.33). Barrington finished second with 104 total points, and Naperville North was third with 102.
In the White Division, Lake Park, which placed first in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:58.02 and the 800 freestyle relay with 7:42.56, won with 144 points. The Lancers took five other events, including the 400 individual medley (3:56.90) and the 300 butterfly relay (8:18.13). Evanston
(124), Brother Rice (88) and Stevenson (78) were next in line.
Rolling Meadows Relays-Hersey won the team championship with 273 points, thanks mainly to two relay champions and double winners Pat Harrington and Matt Zimmer. Harrington won the 200 freestyle (1:48.59) and 100 freestyle
(:48.95) and Zimmer won the 50 freestyle (:22.01) and 200 backstroke
(2:10.21). Sophomore Andrew Johnstone of second-place St. Viator was also a double-winner, in the 400 individual medley (4:31.03) and 500 freestyle
(5:02.52).
Glenbrook North College Events-Glenbrook North won only three events but still edged Glenbrook South 90-88 for the team title. Fourth-place Highland Park won six events in the meet; sophomore Jeremy Bruch won two of those, the 100 butterfly (:58.19) and 200 backstroke (2:09.25). Travis Hauri of sixth-place Deerfield won two events, the 100 backstroke (1:01.84) and 50 backstroke (:28.27), and Peoria Woodruff`s Fred Baker was also a double winner, in the 200 freestyle (1:54.29) and 200 individual medley (2:17.78).
St. Patrick Shamrock Relays-Host St. Patrick won four events to Benet Academy`s five, but the Shamrocks took the title with strong first-place finishes in the 300 individual medley (3:12.71) and the 400 medley relay
(4:10.17).
