You certainly wouldn’t be wrong in saying the competition at the Circle of Stars club gymnastics meet last weekend in Indianapolis was strong.
But that said, the hardest part for members of the Gymnastics Factory youth club in Grayslake was probably getting home from the meet.
Because of snow and wind — plus that that Route 65 is pretty much an accident waiting to happen on a clear day — it took the Grayslake girls seven hours to complete the trip back to Lake County.
Still, the squad members made the trip worthwhile in terms of medal count, as several girls had very successful days.
Competing at Level 8, Elyse Ball scored 35.4 to win the all-around in her age group. She won vault with a 9.025 effort, scored 9.0 on floor, was fourth on the balance beam with 8.8 and took fourth on the uneven bars with 8.575.
Also doing well at Level 8 for the Gym Factory was Nikki Boxer. She scored 9.4 to win beam and 9.4 to win the floor exercise. She had 9.0 on floor and 9.275 on the uneven bars, as here 36.875 score earned her second in the all-around in her age group.
At Level 9, Ellie Columbus tied for first in vault (9.525), and was fifth in the all-around with a 35.575 score. She had 9.225 on the floor.
Also at Level 9, Cecilla Cazares-Carothers took third in the all-around in her age group with a 36.675 total. She was second on bars with 8.55, and had a 9.05 on beam.
At Level 10, Grayslake Central High junior Cinny Lamberti took second in the all-around with a 35.5 score. She was second in vault with 9.625, second on floor with 9.45, third on bars with 8.125, and fourth on beam with 8.3.
The Circle of Stars meet was a qualifying meet for the Nastia Liuken Cup, which will be held in Texas (the stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play). This event brings together the best Junior Olympic-caliber gymnasts in the nation. But to get an invite to the meet, Lamberti needed to win in Indianapolis. Her final chance to qualify for a trip to Texas will be the IGI Chicago Style Meet at Navy Pier this coming weekend.