They say the balance beam is the great equalizer in girls gymnastics.
That certainly was the case Friday night at the preliminaries of the state gymnastics finals at Palatine. Whether the four leading gymnasts could negotiate the 4-inch wide beam proved to be the deciding factor in the all-around race.
Warren sophomore Ashley Alden, the defending beam champ, won the all-around title when she hit her beam routine on her final event, scoring a 9.75. Earlier she watched her friends from her gymnastics club–Stevenson freshman Lindsay Borkan, Fremd freshman Katie Burke and Glenbrook South senior Alyson Cacciatore–lose their balance in the event
Alden, fifth in the all-around last year, finished with a 38.775 total. She will try to defend that beam title, plus seek victories in the uneven bars and floor exercise competitions, during the individual finals Saturday night.
“I was really happy to win [the all-around] but I felt really bad that I beat the other girls,” Alden said, adding that she was tense as she started on the beam.
Stevenson virtually assured itself its first state championship with a 148.875 score. Warren, in its second season and first state meet appearance, likely will finish second with a 147.875 total, and Fremd should finish third at 147.2. Teams can add to their scores with better performances Saturday night in the individual finals, but its extremely difficult to make up more than a quarter of a point
“We thought we would win the state with three falls on beam and we were right,” said Stevenson coach Judy Harwood, who could only bear the pressure to watch two of five Patriots compete on beam.
“I thought the pressure in this meet was tremendous and that our girls handled it well,” she said “I am very proud of what they did.”
Fremd counted two falls in its beam score, and Warren coach J.R. Halek said the Blue Devils had “no falls but a lot of good saves” that produced a disappointing team event score. Stevenson counted two of its three falls off the beam.
“We didn’t have our best meet, but coming out a whole point ahead was amazing,” said Borkan, who competed despite having battled the flu since Sunday. “I am so happy.”
In the beam competition, Borkan and Burke each fell almost 15 minutes apart. Then, in a big shock about 30 minutes later, Cacciatore fell off the beam twice.
“Everyone was saying the beam was jinxed because everyone was falling, but I tried to think about what I was doing and not about the beam being jinxed,” Alden said. “I am really proud of my team that we got second place.”
Burke finished second in the all-around at 38.325, and Erin Murphy of Lyons Township was third with a 37.625 total. Borkan finished fourth at 37.575 and Cacciatore tumbled to eighth with a 37.2.
