Downers Grove Co-Op, Geneseo, and Naperville Central travel to Lyons Township for an IHSA girls’ gymnastics regional! The host Lions enter off a close third-place finish at the West Suburban Conference Meet. Naperville Central took second at the DuPage Valley Conference Meet, while Geneseo heads into the night off a second-place finish at their respective conference clash. Downers Grove Co-Op has won four straight Regionals titles, and was last year’s runner-up at the state meet! This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Two Naperville Central gymnasts advance on the vault
We’ll begin the evening on the vault, and first up is Redhawk Ava Prokob. The Redhawk junior finishes in 10th place with a score of 8.45.
Moving to another Redhawk, and here’s Anna Lazovski! She tucks into the flip and sticks the landing well! The first-year gymnast ends in eighth place with a score of 8.75, which is good enough for an at-large spot at sectionals!
Here’s Dahlia Highland of Lyons Township. Her legs stay straight, and the senior sticks the landing for a score of 9.1, which puts her in fourth place.
The top three of this event belong all to Downers Grove, and first up is Kaelyn Landry. She performs to a score of 9.175.
Moving along to Caroline Phillip, she finishes the routine well with the landing and picks up a score of 9.25 for Downers!
Finishing up the vault, Genevieve Herion heads down the lane. Be ready to see a lot from her tonight as she begins the meet with a 9.5 on the vault, which is somehow her lowest score on the night!
Herion’s teammate Emilie Kuchta, and Lyons gymnast Ava Hepokoski move on through at large selections!
Downers Grove Gymnastics records the top four scores on the bars
Let’s head to the uneven bars portion of the Lyons Regional, and Naperville Central’s Alana Williams gets her routine started. She transfers from the lower to the higher bar and goes around a couple of times at the top before dismounting. Williams scores at 8.25 and will move on to Sectionals with an at-large bid!
Another Redhawk attacks the bars, as Lazovski also starts from the lower bar before working up to the top. The sophomore scores 8.275 and moves on to Sectionals in her first postseason appearance.
Dahlia Highland of Lyons is now up on the bars, and she quickly transitions up high. After some handstands, Highland flings off the bar and gets the landing. She ends in fifth place with a score of 8.825 for the final automatic spot at sectionals.
Let’s see the two best performances from this event, as Downers records the top four scores. Edith Condon shows off her athleticism with a great transition, before finishing off the routine with the exit! She flips to a score of 9.425!
Our final performance on the bars comes from Herion of Downers Grove! She locks in for this routine, making it look easy at the top bar with the movement around the apparatus. Closing it out, she flips twice before landing to a score of 9.525!
Also moving on to Sectionals in this event includes Lyons Townships’s Brynn Krantz, Ava Hepokoski, and Emmy Bertucci, in addition to Phillip of Downers.
Defending state champion Gen Herion shines on the beam for Downers Grove
To the beam we go, and here’s Hepokoski of Lyons, who starts it off with a couple of cartwheels. She jumps a couple of times before exiting and landing en route to a fifth-place finish and score of 8.775.
Kuchta of Downers Grove is now up on the beam, and starts off her routine with a big backflip! The junior does a couple of cartwheels and rounds off her routine with a twist on the exit! She ends in fourth place with a score of 8.95.
Now in the top three, where all the scores are above a 9.3! First, it’s Kaelyn Landry of Downers Grove, who shows off some athleticism on the jumps. She then does a cartwheel, before a terrific flip-up on the beam! On the exit, Landry does her job and finishes with a score of 9.35.
Here’s Condon up on the beam, and she starts with an acrobatic flip on the beam. After shining with some jumps, Condon shows out on the exit, landing it to near perfection! The sophomore ends in second at 9.45!
Our final competitor in this event is none other than Herion, the defending state champion on the beam. She puts in a great performance with these moves on the beam, and once again earns the top spot on the night. Her exit helps the Downers Gymnast to a score of 9.6!
Also moving on through at-large qualification includes Phillip of Downers and Bertucci and Highland of Lyons!
Downers Grove Gymnastics win the IHSA Lyons Township Regional
Let’s close out the night from the floor, and start with Lazovski the Redhawk. She puts in a great performance as we watch her go by a couple of times. She sticks every landing, and finishes in seventh with a score of 8.8! It’s good for an at-large spot at Sectionals, along with her teammate Williams, who scored at 8.575. Both Redhawks will be moving on in the All-Around.
Now on the floor is Bertucci of Lyons who gets the first pass to go, with some hype from the crowd. She goes around again, and the Lion gymnast does a great job closing the night! Bertucci’s score of 9.05 gets her in fifth place.
Condon of Downers Grove attacks her first pass, as her coach loves it and encourages her on. The Downers gymnast heads to the camera the second time around, before one last pass across the floor. Condon ends the night in second place with a score of 9.2.
Our final performance of the night is from Herion of Downers. She once again puts on a show, this time from the floor as she goes around three times en route to a score of 9.55! The top 10 gymnasts from the floor will move on to Sectionals.
Herion easily secures the top All-Around spot with a score of 38.175. Downers Grove gymnastics scores a new program-high score of 148.325 to win their fifth straight Regional title! All advancing gymnasts will return to action on Monday night at the Hinsdale Central Sectional.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
