Local freshmen growing up quickly

Thankfully, fans of girls gymnastics are far too considerate to ever break into the "She's a freshman" cheer after a newcomer finishes her effort on bars, beam, floor or vault.

Of course, watching freshmen step up and do great things isn't uncommon in gymnastics, but this winter in particular; there are more doing it in DuPage County.

More than 20 young athletes who just started high school several months ago are doing well as varsity athletes. This includes a few who are among their team's top-scoring gymnasts. Others may have stepped into more of a specialist role but are still being asked to contribute to the team's varsity score despite being only 14 or 15 years old.

Leading the way is Maddie Diab at Glenbard West, who scored a 37.4 in the all-around in her first meet in late November. She's looking to help the Hilltoppers get to the state finals again after a two-year hiatus.

"I think it's always a challenge, but a good one, for a program to have a gymnast of that caliber and to see how you can make them excel," Hilltoppers coach Carlos Fuentes said. "She has come in at a great time with a team loaded with junior and senior experience, so someone with her pedigree can make a great impact for a team that was already at 140."

There's potential history in the making at Downers Grove South, which hasn't advanced beyond a sectional as a team in years.

While there is plenty of veteran leadership on the team, a couple of freshmen are also playing big roles, including Abby Carlson, whose sister Kayla Carlson is a junior. The younger Carlson led the Mustangs with an all-around of 36.05 to win Addison Trail's Winter Tumberland on Dec. 19. Fellow freshman Andrea Davenport is also a key contributor on the team's seven-gymnast roster.

"The unique thing for me is all my varsity kids have trained on and off together since they were little," Mustangs coach Kristyn Campos said. "The dynamic is pretty great with how they know how to push each other and when to leave each other alone. They know what they're capable of and what they can't do and we've got two freshmen who are driving forces to get the upperclassmen to continue to improve and be more consistent."

Diab, Abby Carlson, Downers Grove North's Maddie Johnson, Naperville North's Leah Molloy and Lake Park's Andie Granskog and Nina Gallichio have been the highest-scoring freshmen in the area, but there are plenty of others who are offering a lot.

Naperville Central is rebuilding behind freshmen Rose Fritz, Hailey Haumann, Natalie Stephens, Madelyn Surin.

Wheaton co-op was hurt by substantial graduation losses but has settled in nicely this year with the freshmen foursome of Jackie Kerth, Jillian Horvatin, Maggie O'Hara and Macy Smykal mixing in with returnees Laura Hughes, Julie Galo and Petrina Chino.

"The freshmen are really contributing on two or three events and I think the difference is that they come in with a lot of skills but aren't as polished as the seniors who left were," Wheaton co-op coach Maureen Kermend said. "I guess you forget that that was the process of four years of developing, so we've got some girls who have skills but are still working on the presentation of routines."

Interestingly, most area teams have at least one freshman contributing regularly, with one or more at the aforementioned schools, as well as Glenbard East, Glenbard South, Hinsdale Central, Hinsdale South, Addison Trail, Naperville North and York.

While many underclassmen take their lumps and get prepared for varsity competition by spending time on freshmen and roster teams, these freshmen have been thrust into the biggest competitions right away.

"There's no luxury there and that's the part of gymnastics where you have to be trained to be mentally tough," Campos said. "The thing here is that they're part of a high school team so it's not just about them. There's pressure from the outside and you have to be on your 'A' game. It's about your gymnastics ability, not seniority."

Coaches also have to be careful with how they handle these new arrivals.

"It's such a mentally challenging sport, but you want them to stick with it," Kermend said. "You don't want to push them away. With basketball and volleyball, you usually start on the freshman team and develop at a certain pace. With gymnastics these girls are trying to produce as much as they can right away."

No holding back:

There's a Japanese proverb, "Fall seven times, stand up eight."

Lake Park senior Izzy Shaw has torn her ACL twice, but she's not only standing up, she's standing often at the awards stand.

Shaw has persevered, dedicating herself to completing the grueling rehab twice to get back to doing what she loves.

"When I tore it the second time my mom and I talked about how maybe coming back isn't such a good idea, but the conversation didn't last very long," she said. "I can't imagine life without gymnastics, so I tried a different approach to rehab and that's really helped."

Shaw is a key reason why Lake Park is one of the Top 10 teams in the state this year, and only six other teams have bested the 142.175 it posted in Oswego's Tumble for the Troops on Dec. 22. She finished second in the all-around with a 37.325.

"I feel good when I'm out there," she said. "I know I'm going to have my aches and pains and I accept that. I know that nothing guarantees that it won't happen again, but I have confidence in my skills and in myself."

She first tore her ACL during Thanksgiving break her sophomore year while working on her floor exercise routine. It was her first major injury in the sport, although she had two stress fractures in her back in seventh grade.

She tore it again the following summer while training on the beam and missed her entire junior season.

"My ankle rolled a little bit and my knee probably wasn't as strong as it could've been and I heard a pop," she said. "I was able to walk away from it so I thought I just tweaked it, but I went to the doctor the next day and found out I retore it."

So far, so good now for Shaw, who is looking to lead the Lancers to state for the first time since 2003.

"Coach has talked about what we have as a team and it's a special chemistry," she said. "Everyone is supporting each other and working hard and we're confident the hard work will help us put together a lineup that will do well in regionals and sectionals so we can try to make it to state."

Shaw doesn't know if she'll continue gymnastics in college. For now, her focus is solely on being a Lancer.

"This season is about me being there for my team," she said. "After what happened the last two years, my focus is on being back."

Luck of the draw:

There's no arguing that the Glenbard West sectional is tougher than the Hinsdale Central sectional. All DuPage County teams but Fenton will compete in regionals feeding into the these two sectionals.

It's especially good news for Downers Grove South. Based on scores so far this season, it appears that it could be a two-team race between the Mustangs and Lincoln-Way co-op in the Hinsdale Central sectional, although there are a handful of teams on the rise, including Downers Grove North and Hinsdale Central.

For now, everyone is looking up at DeKalb/Sycamore co-op in the Glenbard West sectional. The team's 146.3 makes it the second-highest scoring team this year. The host Hilltoppers, along with Lake Park, Geneva and St. Charles co-op, have all scored a 140 or better this year. In fact only 14 teams have done so this winter and five of them are part of this sectional.

"There's a number of teams in the sectional that have scored a 140, but some have only done it once, so it will be telling to see how many can replicate that score," Glenbard West coach Carlos Fuentes said. "It's hard to score well at the sectional, and I tell the girls that there will be misses. You won't have that perfect meet that day."