It wasn’t easy, but the Barrington girls gymnastics team found a way to qualify for the state finals being held at Palatine next weekend.
The Broncos, who lost Jessica Lee to a lower leg injury four days before the Lake Park Sectional, managed to take third place (144.275) on Thursday and earned an at-large qualifying spot. Prairie Ridge won the meet with a score of 149.25, while Fremd (146.95) took second.
“This is by far the strongest sectional in the state,” Barrington coach Jason Loeffler said. “To make it through is another breath of fresh air.”
As expected, Abigail Hasanov had another strong meet for Barrington, taking seventh place in the all-around (36.5). Her score was strong enough to earn an at-large qualifying spot to state. She also placed second in vault (9.65), third in uneven parallel bars (9.475), and fifth in floor (9.55), qualifying for state in all three.
“I was really scared after getting a 7.825 on beam,” Hasanov said. “I was having a good meet and beam really threw me off. I really wanted to make it in all-around and when coach told me I made it, I felt so good.”
The meet was bittersweet for teammate Molly Blanke. She nailed her second vault and wound up finishing third with a score of 9.55, the only other individual qualifier for Barrington. But in the final event of the day, beam, she landed her dismount on the edge of the mat and injured her ankle.
“I’m definitely disappointed,” Blanke said. “I hurt my ankle really bad but hopefully I’ll be OK. It’s really swollen right now. I’ll let it rest and see what happens.”
Buffalo Grove’s Diandra Duenser had her own injury woes. She’s been battling ankle injuries all year and tweaked it on her first vault. She wound up taking 21st in all-around (33.95).
“I just had to give it my all,” Duenser said. “I really wanted to go out strong and do my best and that was my best vault all season. That’s what my coaches expect of me and that’s exactly what I wanted to prove to them.”
Rob Valentin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
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