LT Sports Roundup: Girls Gymnasts Into State Meet, Wrestlers Qualify Eight for DeLaSalle [VIDEO]

Lyons Township girls gymnastics coach Kari Karubas calls it the Senior Flight.

For their final year of high-school competition, LT seniors become able to reach new levels of performance.

“They just take off. They own up to our gym and get on a mission and everything that they’ve doubted about goes to the wayside,” Karubas said. “In my seven years here (as head coach), there hasn’t been one senior who hasn’t run with it.”

Ali Stuck and Kalen Iffert, the only two seniors in the program this season, were determined to continue the tradition. With the help of their overachieving, the Lions are enjoying quite a ride.

After a one-year absence, the Lions qualified for the eight-team state meet automatically Monday by winning the Hinsdale Central Sectional with 144.05 points.

Impressive LT freshman Kelsy Kurfirst won all-around (37.90), uneven parallel bars (9.55) and floor exercise (9.575), tied for first on vault with Hinsdale Central’s Erin Morgan (9.725) and tied for fourth on balance beam (9.05). Junior Maren Craig and freshman Kelly Ryser also were part of the five all-arounder lineup.

The state meet is Feb. 17-18 at Palatine High School. This is the Lions’ fifth state trip over the past six seasons and fourth sectional title over that span.

“Every year we have a new combination, new chemistry. None of them actually have never been to state,” Karubas said.

“These girls listen to everything (assistant coach Courtney Douglas and I) say. They show up early, stay late, take every correction. They’re very focused. It wasn’t difficult to try and convince them they had nothing to lose and to try and buy into our coaching. It’s such a wonderful group. I’ve never had such chemistry, so I feel really lucky.”  

Craig and Stuck were part of last year’s sectional lineup, and Iffert was an alternate in her first year of high-school gymnastics. The Lions scored 144.775 points to finish second at the 2011 Hinsdale Central Sectional, but their score only was the ninth-highest among all sectionals – one spot and just .20 from advancing to state.

That team graduated a great senior class with all-stater Carolyn Cozza, the program’s eighth all-stater with top-five state finishes, multiple state qualifier and finalist Taylor Southworth, all-arounder Katie Oeltgen and Niki Nolan.

Besides improvement and consistency from their three returnees, these Lions have been bolstered by the additions of Kurfirst, already established among the state’s best, and Ryser. Ryser and Craig got late starts because of being part of LT’s diving team in the fall.

Teams can enter five gymnasts per event with four going toward the team total. The Lions’ challenge of simply maintaining the health of the bare minimum five all-arounder lineup was magnified by Craig being sidelined at the start of the season by a back injury and Ryser battling an ankle injury all season.

Karubas said she tries to specifically structure workouts as best as possible while combining them with team unity.

“I have such respect for the sport and when it comes to safety and going to that line of discomfort. I take them right up to the line and try not to cross it,” Karubas said. “From all of the years I’ve been involved in the sport, competing and coaching, I feel I have a little intuition as an insider when it comes to that.”

At state, team competition and individual preliminaries are held Feb. 17 with qualifiers who finish among the top 10 scores that day advancing to the event finals Feb. 18.

With one sectional remaining Thursday at Niles North, LT will at least be joined by fellow sectional champions Prairie Ridge co-op (147.25 sectional score) and Glenbard North (146.35). Rival Glenbard West (144.875) is among those in contention for the four at-large team berths.

The Lions scored a season-high 144.35 Friday in winning their LT Sectional in La Grange, their seventh consecutive regional championship.

Kurfirst swept titles in all-around (38.10), vault (9.725), floor (9.5), uneven bars (9.5) and beam (9.375). Craig, Iffert, Stuck and Ryser also qualified individually for sectionals with top-five regional finishes or at-large, but none of their scores at sectionals qualified individually for state.

The state all-around title is determined by preliminary scores. Kurfirst is expected to contend with the likes of DeKalb/Sycamore co-op and Iowa-bound senior Alyssa Lopez and Glenbard North senior Amanda Quinn.

Gymnasts in the event finals can improve their team scores by the amount they improve upon their preliminary scores.

State-title favorite Carmel is expected to win the team title at Niles North. Individual standouts expected to advance from that field include Carmel junior Lauren Feely and senior Kirstin Mirski, Lake Forest’s Kat McKeon and Kylie Carlson, Stevenson senior Ali Castriano and Vernon Hills senior Alli Tran.

Feely is the defending state beam champion and highest returning all-around finisher (4th) from 2011. Mirski is the defending floor champion, and Castriano won beam in 2010.

“We’re in some serious competition. We’re aware of this, but our ultimate goal (for Kurfirst) is to medal, and we’re going to try and help her get there,” Karubas said.

“She’s won the last eight meets she’s been in. She’s amazing. There are some skills we’ve been waiting to put in that we’re going to try and hope to stick at the right time.”
Still, it’s been an amazing flight, and Karubas wants her gymnasts to enjoy it and take advantage of their ultimate flight.

“Courtney and I tried to paint a picture of what state was like. We’re excited because they’re so young and we hope they get a taste of what the state meet is like and become convinced it’s where they want to end up every year,” Karubas said.

“We still counted some falls (at sectionals), but I was very happy with the way they performed. I still know we’re capable of more, which is bittersweet because I’m still waiting to see what we see in practice. Hopefully that will happen at the state meet.”

Hinsdale Central Sectional
Team results: 1. Lyons Township 144.05*, 2. Hinsdale Central 138.95, 3. Waubonsie Valley/Metea Valley co-op 138.05, 4. Oswego co-op 137.05, 5. Lincoln-Way co-op 136.675, 6. Naperville Central 135.475
LT individual sectional qualifiers
All-around: 1. Kelsy Kurfirst 37.90*, 7. Maren Craig 35.575, 12. Kelly
Ryser 34.525, 20. Kalen Iffert 33.70, 23. Ali Stuck 33.60
Vault: 1T. Kurfirst 9.725*, 9T. Craig 9.35, 14. Stuck 9.25, 16. Iffert
9.1
Uneven parallel bars: 1. Kurfirst 9.55*, 6T. Craig 8.775, 12. Ryser
8.625, 14. Iffert 8.475
Balance beam: 4T. Kurfirst 9.05*, 6. Ryser 8.9, 12. Craig 8.675, 25.
Stuck 8.175
Floor exercise: 1. Kurfirst 9.575*, 7T. Iffert 9.125, 12. Ryser 8.925,
16T. Craig 8.775, 29T. Stuck 8.325

*- State qualifier

Lyons Township Regional
Team results: 1. Lyons Township 144.35*, 2. Naperville Central 138.075*, 3. Naperville North 132.80
LT results
All-around: 1. Kurfirst 38.10*, 2. Craig 36.25*, 6. Iffert 34.45*, 7. Stuck 34.30*, 8. Ryser 33.975*
Vault: 1. Kurfirst 9.725*, 2. Craig 9.375*, 5. Stuck 9.175*, 8. Iffert 9.0*, 21. Ryser 8.075
Uneven bars: 1. Kurfirst 9.5*, 3T. Ryser 8.675*, 5. Craig 8.575*, 7. Iffert 8.4*, 12. Stuck 8.025
Balance beam: 1. Kurfirst 9.375*, 2. Craig 9.35*, 8T. Ryser 8.5*, 10T. Stuck 8.475*, 15. Iffert 8.0
Floor exercise: 1. Kurfirst 9.5*, 3. Iffert 9.05*, 4T. Craig 8.95*, 10. Ryser 8.725*, 11T. Stuck 8.625*
*-Sectional qualifier

LT wrestling

Coming close again wasn’t going to cut it for Lyons Township seniors Carter Beebe and Jack Pearson at the Class 3A LT Regional Saturday.

After missing advancing to sectionals by one place each of the past two years, Beebe and Pearson are among the eight Lions who advanced with top-three regional finishes.

Beebe (120 pounds), senior Jaime Jones (182) and junior Justin Fuller (195) were regional champions. Juniors Jack Bates (145) and Eric Rende (170) and sophomore A.J. Villarreal (126) were second, and Pearson (160) and senior Adam Rodgers (285) were third.

Beebe and Jones pinned all of their opponents. As a team, LT (185.5 points) finished second to Hinsdale Central (215), which won seven of the 14 classes. The Red Devils are No. 9 in the latest 3A team rankings by IllinoisMatmen.com.

“We got eight through, a bunch of champs. I’m proud of them. They competed hard and we just came up a little short. And Hinsdale (Central) had a great tournament. They’re an outstanding team and we knew coming in we were going to have to have an outstanding effort to beat them. I thought we had a good effort.”

The Lions need top-four finishes at the De La Salle Sectional Friday and Saturday to reach the individual state meet. The finals and third-place matches are scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday.

Jones not only is the only returning LT individual state qualifier from 2011 but its only returnee from the sectional lineup.

Beebe (28-12 record) left nothing to chance Saturday to earn that opportunity. After a first-round bye and first-period pin in the semifinals, Beebe pinned Hinsdale Central’s Masen Cruickshank in 5:19 in the final.

“Carter has been fourth the last two years and that’s tough to swallow when you work as hard as he does,” Powell said. “He continued to stay focused and continued to set that bar and this year he dominated his way to a championship.”

A state qualifier last year at 189, Jones (24-7) needed just 1:15 to pin Reavis’ Yusif Ismail in the final. Jones pinned his first two foes in a combined 4:21.
Fuller (23-14) pulled off a hard-fought 7-5 title victory over Stagg’s Ehab ReFati (25-5).

Fuller surged to a 7-1 lead and was ahead 7-3 entering the third period. ReFati chose the down position and closed to 7-5 on a reversal with 1:37 left, but Fuller couldn’t be turned the rest of the way.

“That guy’s got a great record. (Early on, Fuller) controlled. He put himself in the position to win,” Powell said.

Often the third-place matches are more emotional because a sectional berth is on the line.

Pearson (22-19) nearly fell victim again Saturday as he trailed Argo’s Emmet McGovern 3-0 midway through the second period. Suddenly, Pearson attacked for a takedown and pin in 3:12 to prevail.

On Jan. 21, Pearson had lost 4-2 to McGovern (23-11) in the third-place match of the Oak Park-River Forest Invitational.

“I was happy for (Pearson) because he’s had some close matches where he’s been on the losing side. For him, as a senior, to get it done in that situation, a pressure situation, was just fun to see,” Powell said.

Rodgers (23-8), a backup to state qualifier Brian Pieroth last season, had little drama in his third-place match, a 10-0 blanking of Argo’s Kyle Fredette (23-13).

“Those guys that came back and took third, that’s tough to do. You come out for a tough (semifinal) loss. They bounced back and found a way to get it done.”

In their championship matches, Villarreal (32-9) lost 6-4 to Reavis senior Josh Arnold (30-6), Rende (17-13) lost 9-5 to Hinsdale Central’s T.J. Sally (25-6), and Bates (25-15) lost by technical fall to undefeated Stagg senior Kevin Moylan (38-0) by a 18-3 score.

Villarreal led going into the third period, but Arnold got an early takedown and two-point near fall, and Villarreal was never able to escape. Moylan is ranked No. 3 at 145.

Finishing fourth were LT senior Juan Montes (220), junior Brian Krueger (113) and sophomore Chris Letsinger (106).

Montes (16-19) lost 6-2 to Hinsdale South’s Brett Kerstein, and Letsinger (11-24) was shut out 9-0 by Hinsdale South’s Nick Perisin and Krueger was pinned in 49 seconds by Reavis’ Mutaz Matariyeh (22-13).

LT swimming

The Lyons Township varsity boys swimmers continue to improve, and they should only get better.

On Saturday, the Lions finished a strong third at the West Suburban Conference Silver Division Meet at Downers Grove North. LT (224 points) finished behind powerhouse Hinsdale Central (333) and near second-place Oak Park-River Forest (243) after also coming close to beating the Huskies in their dual. Diving was held Friday.

The LT swimmers were not tapered for the meet and even went through a workout earlier that morning as they set their sights on the Fenwick Sectional Feb. 18.

“I think their attitude and mindset is right where it needs to be,” LT coach Scott Walker said. “The kids swam well (Saturday), right where we wanted them to be, right at their season-best times. For a while, I thought we might make a run at Oak Park, but we kind of ran out of gas at the end.”

LT senior Danny McGuinness finished second in the 50-yard freestyle (22.96) and 100 free (50.62) to Hinsdale Central entries Jonah Heiser (22.51) and Connor Schroyer (50.43), and the Lions’ 200 free relay of sophomore David “Texas” Freund, juniors Joe Shannon and Peter Dore and McGuinness (1:33.76) was second to Hinsdale Central (1:33.76). Hinsdale Central and OPRF swept all of the events.

At sectionals, the Lions will see OPRF again as well as the host Friars, Argo, Curie, Elmwood Park, Fenton, Hubbard, Kennedy, Leyden, Little Village, Morton, Proviso West, Reavis and Riverside-Brookfield.

Sectional champions automatically advance to the state meet as well as entries that achieve the state-qualifying standards at the meet. Divers among the 32 highest remaining scores also advance to state.

McGuinness and Shannon are LT’s only returning state qualifiers. McGuinness advanced individually in 100 free and in the 200 free relay and the 200 medley relay along with Shannon.

At the lower levels Saturday, LT enjoyed great finishes as the junior varsity won the title 316-289 over Hinsdale Central and the freshmen finished second to the Red Devils 334-264.

LT’s swimmers were tapered on those levels, and Walker said every one of them had lifetime-best swims.

“I totaled 233 seconds dropped (from  seed times) between both of those levels. From a coach’s standpoint, you don’t get a lot of those meets,” Walker said. “They swam absolutely out of their minds. I was extremely happy and proud for them. They really let themselves go and allowed their bodies to do what they were trained to do.”

West Suburban Conference Silver Division Meet
Varsity results
Team standings: 1. Hinsdale Central 333, 2. Oak Park-River Forest 243, 3. Lyons Township 224, 4. Downers Grove North 168, 5. Glenbard West 129, 6. York 116, 7. Proviso West 35
LT results
200=yard medley relay: 3. Chris Withington, Joe Shannon, Adam Kline, Peter Dore 1:44.78
200 freestyle: 5. Shannon 1:54.64, 8. David “Texas” Freund 1:59.09
200 individual medley: 3.  Josh Hirt 2:06.31, 5. Brendan Weibel 2:09.19
50 free: 2. Danny McGuinness 22.96, 5. Dore 23.98
Diving: 6. Craig Pace 303.80, 7. Jimmy Woulfe 249.25
100 butterfly: 7. Kline 59.75, 9. Lucas O’Bryan 1:00.45
100 free: 2. McGuinness 50.62, 10. Freund 53.99
500 free: 5. Hirt 5:01.68, 6. Weibel 5:07.16
200 free relay: 2. Freund, Shannon, Dore, McGuinness 1:33.76
100 backstroke: 5. Withington 59.70, 8. Jack Garrow 1:01.96
100 breaststroke: 3. Shannon 1:03.63, 10. Sean McMahon 1:10.96
400 free relay: 4. Freund, Dore, Ben Hewett, McGuinness 3:29.36
Junior varsity WSC Silver Meet
Team results: 1. Lyons Township 316, 2. Hinsdale Central 289, 3. Oak Park-River Forest 215, 4. Downers Grove North 179, 5. York 77, 6. Proviso West 2
LT top-two finishers
200 medley relay: 2. Ed Berzanskis, Andrew Balch, Pete Perez-Tamayo, Rob Williams 1:49.21
200 free: 1. Mike Krol 1:55.33
200 IM: 1. Perez-Tamayo 2:11.45
50 free: 1. Kovas Zygas 23.21
Diving: 2.  Fifa Glanboot 212.10 points
100 fly: 2. Perez-Tamayo 58.94
100 free: 1. Zygas 51.15
500 free: 1. Krol 5:11.24
200 free relay: 2. Berzanskis, Brad Linden, Balch, Zygas 1:36.60
100 back: 2. Sebastian Hoak 1:00.02
400 free relay: 1. Perez-Tamayo, Williams, Linden, Zygas 3:31.60
Freshman WSC Silver Meet
Team scores: 1. Hinsdale Central  334, 2. Lyons Township 264, 3. Oak Park-River Forest 245, 4. Downers Grove North 161, 5. York 159, 6. Glenbard West 13
LT top-two finishers
200-medley relay: 2. Ed McCarter, Erik Grosskopf, Nathan Kriha, Nick Bonneville 1:46.77
200 IM: 2. George Duffy 2:12.16
Diving: 1. Matt Benz 275.65 points
100 fly: 2. Kriha 58.49
200 free relay: 2. McCarter, Duffy, Matt Baldassarre, Peter Newman 1:36.83