A temporary setback.
That’s how Glenbrook North’s Alexandra Michalak viewed the injury she suffered to her left knee in early December.
Once she was cleared to resume training, the senior gymnast pared back her regimen to only two events — beam and bars — to reduce wear and tear.
Michalak has quickly worked her way back to optimal form and she now looks at the reduced workload as a blessing in disguise.
“It’s funny how those things work out sometimes,” she said. “It’s been kind of nice because I’ve been able to just concentrate on those two events. It’s led to me improving more than I would have if I was focused on everything.”
During Michalak’s absence, she especially missed working on the beam, which has long been her favorite event — so much so that she remembers the exact occasion in a late-season practice as a sophomore when she first executed her first standing back tuck.
Michalak nailed the move a few days later at the 2015 regional meet and was rewarded with a then-career-best 9.3. She qualified for the state meet later that year and scored an 8.975 in the state prelims.
Her confidence in the often-daunting event hasn’t wavered since.
Glenbrook North coach Julie Holmbeck attributes Michalak’s proficiency on the beam to several factors.
“She has a very high skill level on her leaps and she’s very clean when she’s truly on,” Holmbeck said. “She’s also very good at adapting. If she’s off balance, she’s very good at making it look like it was supposed to look like that.”
Very minimal selling to the judges was necessary during a particularly stellar span recently.
Michalak scored a career-high 9.4 in the event at the Fremd Invite on Jan. 21, and followed that performance three days later with a formidable 9.3 at a dual meet with Deerfield.
She couldn’t replicate those scores at the Central Suburban North conference meet that Glenbrook North hosted on Saturday when she placed third in both the beam (8.375) and bars (8.350). A fall on the beam put a dent in her score.
“I was disappointed that I fell. That was annoying,” said Michalak, a Northbrook resident. “But overall I’m happy with where I am at this point of the season.”
Peaking for the regional and sectional tournaments is important to Michalak — and not only because her prep career is nearing its conclusion. She’s determined to avoid the heartache she felt last February when she missed qualifying for a repeat trip to state by 0.1 points at the sectional.
Falling short caused Michalak to retreat from gymnastics for several months, which succeeded in reigniting her drive when her senior campaign beckoned.
“That was really disappointing but it’s served as a real motivator for me,” she said. “It made me totally determined to do better this year.”
At the Glenbrook South Regional on Monday, she took third in both of her events — 8.875 on bars and 8.900 on beam — and advanced to the Stevenson Sectional on Monday.
During the Spartans’ Senior Night on Jan. 24, it dawned on Michalak just how rapidly her gymnastics career is winding down.
“It made me devote myself to have fun in practice and to take advantage of the time I have left,” Michalak said. “I obviously want to make it (to the state meet) and I would be upset if I didn’t. But I know I’ve already had a really good season.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press
