Mundelein’s girls gymnastics team hoped to make history inside its home gymnasium Monday night.
The Mustangs won North Suburban Conference and regional team championships, and a sectional title would’ve been the first in program history. But Glenbrook South spoiled Mundelein’s aspirations.
The Titans won the team title in a close race, defeating the runner-up Mustangs by the score of 142.625 to 141.325.
“There was nothing they could have done better. Everything was great. I was disappointed in the scores not reflecting how great they did,” Mundelein coach Nancy Toland said.
The winning team from each sectional earns an automatic bid to the Feb. 20-21 state finals at Palatine. Mundelein could receive one of four at-large team berths, but the Mustangs are not optimistic.
“If you go by the routines that we hit, I would say we should be up with the top teams in the state,” Toland said. “But the scores that we had tonight are going to be lower than what’s ever made it to state.”
Individually, senior McKenzie Kehr shined for the Mustangs. Kehr received an automatic state berth (top five) in four events — the all-around, balance beam, floor exercise and uneven parallel bars. Kehr won the bars with a score of 9.420.
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Carmel finished in third place as a team with a score of 141.125. Sophomore Samantha Lococo also qualified for state in four events — all-around, bars, vault and floor. Her 9.65 in the floor earned her a first-place medal.
Other area gymnasts earning automatic berths were from Stevenson. Senior Elizabeth Shank finished fifth in the all-around (36.625) and tied for second in the bars (9.35). Junior Mikaela Webb finished fourth in the bars with a score of 9.225.
Twelve gymnasts from each event receive at-large bids to the state meet. At-large berths are not expected to be announced until Friday.
Jon Kerr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.