HINSDALE β Itβs good to be Genevieve Herion these days.
And the Downers Grove co-op senior was awfully good during Mondayβs Hinsdale Central Sectional leading the Trostangs to 148 points for the title and a berth into the IHSA state girls gymnastics finals, Feb. 21-22.
Herion won vault (9.7) and beam (9.575), tied for first on floor (9.5) and took second on bars (9.4) to win the all-around title (38.175).
βWeβve been putting in a lot of hard work at practice and all the girls weβre just a family,β Herion said. βWe stay together. We pick each other up. And I see all the girls working hard and Iβm super proud of them and seeing that hard work pay off today was so special to see.β
Caroline Phillip took third in the all-around (37.225) and Edith Condon was sixth (36.35).
Phillip took fourth on floor (9.325) and bars (9.25) and fifth on beam (9.15). Condon was fourth on beam (9.275). Emilie Kuchta tied for fifth on vault (9.35).
βSo proud of my girls,β Herion said. βThey were amazing. I think on every event we stuck together, cheered loud, we were all there for each other. If someone had a bad routine we had teammates to pick each other up.β
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/TRCVDNCM25H67LGAPVTZUB7RSY.jpg)
Downers Grove co-op is advancing to state for the fifth straight season. Herion helped lead the Trostangs to a state title two years ago and to second place last February.
βI think weβve just been putting in the work and we didnβt really have any expectations,β she said. βWeβre just going out and doing gymnastics. Weβve been working hard and putting in the work because we all want it.β
Sheβs got one more weekend to do something special again for her high school gymnastics team.
βItβs been one of the greatest experiences of my life,β she said. βMeeting these girls and getting to do the sport we love together is something I hold dear to my heart.β
Thereβs still work to be done for the Trostangs.
βWe had a good meet, not a great meet,β Trostangs coach Kristyn Campos said. βThereβs room for improvement so thatβs even better. We had some uncharacteristic falls, some nerves, but thatβs ok. This was good for us as a good confidence builder.β
Lincoln-Way co-op put itself in a strong position for one of the four at-large team qualifiers, taking second with 143.6 while District 230 co-opβs 142.475 was slightly better than Oswego co-opβs 142.375, hurting the hopes of the Wanthers of returning to state for the first time since 2002.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/V6VIUFTMNJEONBXG4CFWCN4LGI.jpg)
Oswego seniors Ava Sullivan finished fourth (37) and Sam Phillip took fifth (36.475) to qualify for state. Sullivan also earned state berths by taking third on beam (9.4), fourth on vault (9.45) and fifth on floor (9.3). Sullivan took second on vault (9.55) and tied for first on floor with Herion.
βIt was a really solid meet for all of us,β Sullivan said. βWe did so, so good. We went 5-for-5 on beam, and bars was amazing. It just went so, so well. So weβll see. I hate the waiting game, but itβs just a number so you got to wait and see.β
The competition was strong with the words βmini state tournamentβ being strung together by some.
βItβs just so competitive and thereβs nothing I can do about that,β Sullivan said. βI really do appreciate the competition. It makes it so much more fun. What would this be if there wasnβt this competition? But it went very well. I couldnβt have asked for anything more from my team. Iβm so proud of them.β
Three sectionals remain through Thursday until the Wanthers know their fate.
βWeβll see what happens, if thereβs another meet in the books for us,β Sullivan said, βIβm really happy this is how we went out, but weβll see.β
Hinsdale South senior Anya Patel won bars (9.45) and took second in the all-around (37.425).
βOverall it was a really good meet,β Patel said. βI was really happy with my bar routine because it was definitely my best one of the season and Iβm happy that the meet reflected that. But overall as a team I think this was one of our highest energy meets and we were all really excited to be here as a team.β
Patel also placed second on beam (9.45) and third on floor (9.375) to help the Hornets score 140.325 points for fifth.
βItβs really exciting,β she said. βWeβre all just really close, and the last two years weβve kind of had a small team and this is the first year where weβve had a great group of girls that are all wanting to showing up to practice. They all want to work hard and be there for each other. To get here we won a regional for I think the third time in our school history so weβre all super excited.β