Fremd Wins Tri-Meet Against Palatine and Conant

It’s no secret that the Fremd girl's varsity gymnastics team has tremendous depth, which came in handy Wednesday in their win at home against Palatine and Conant High Schools.

Fremd, who boasts up to ten varsity gymnasts, finished first with a team score of 143.55. Conant came in second with a 139.9, and Palatine finished third with a 137.7.

“Floor went well, and so did vault," said Palatine junior Nicole Kuksuk. “But we really had trouble with bars and beam tonight.”

Palatine, led by Kuksuk and junior Abby Alden, suffered a fall from almost all competitors on the balance beam, with Alden being the only one to stay on.

“Numbers. We just need to do more numbers on beam. We need to be more consistent,” said head coach Terry Theobald.

Alden finished third on the balance beam for the Pirates with a 9.1, second on the floor exercise with a 9.05, and third in the all around with a 35.75. Kuksuk finished second on vault, debuting a difficult layout yurchenko, with a 9.5 and second in the all around with a 35.9. Conant’s Brie Bibel took first in the all around with a 36.1.

“I’ve been working on the vault for only two days,” Kuksuk said. “We did well today with adding new skills and new people in the lineup, but we still fell.”

Palatine also had help from senior Marissa Mallon, who competed in her first meet back from taking a year off and a bout of sickness. Juniors Alissa Judson and Megan Hedstrom, and freshmen Andrea Ori and Claudia Przystal also competed for the Pirates.

Fremd, showcasing it's seniors on senior night, started on vault where sophomore Christine Jensen vaulted her way to a first place finish with a 9.6. Junior Emily Pinderski finished second on bars with a 9.2, and senior Stephanie Uhrich won the event with a 9.4. Her sister Elizabeth Uhrich nabbed the floor title.

On beam, where the Vikings had to count a few falls, Uhrich stayed on to win the event with a 9.2. For Fremd’s last routine on beam from Jensen, the cross-town rivals came together to cheer her on, showcasing each team’s sportsmanship.

Fremd’s varsity team consists of many other talented gymnasts, including juniors Shannon Lemajeur, Anna Johnson, Mary Smaga, and Stephanie Gallo, who is out with an injury, and freshmen Christine Radachonski and Sydney Plichta. The Vikings, if all goes as planned, will look to medal at the state meet in February.

Fremd junior varsity also won the meet by a landslide, finishing with a 98.8. Conant JV finished with an 88.0, while Palatine’s JV team came in third with an 86.55.

Catch the varsity Vikings in action Saturday, Jan. 7 at the Lincoln-Way East Invite at 1 p.m. The freshmen compete at Conant High School on Saturday at 12 p.m.

The varsity Pirates are next in action on Saturday, Jan. 7 at the Naperville North Varsity Invitational at 1 p.m. The freshmen team will be competing alongside the Vikings at the Conant Freshmen Invite at 12 p.m. at Conant High School.