On Feb. 9, the Deerfield girls gymnastics team competed in the Mundelein Sectional. Three Warriors — sophomores Brooke Buranosky and Rachel Krengel and junior Samantha Sansweet — qualified for the meet.
None of Deerfield’s gymnasts were awarded marks high enough to earn a spot in Friday and Saturday’s state meet at Palatine. The Warriors did have a solid season, finishing 4-1 in Central Suburban League North competition, their only loss coming to Glenbrook North.
Pioneer Press contributor Jon Kerr caught up with Deerfield coach Krista Settles to talk about the sectional meet and to recap the season.
Jon Kerr: So no state qualifiers this year. You were closest with Buranosky, who scored a 9.175 on the vault. The cutoff to qualify as an at-large competitor was 9.375.
Krista Settles: “I thought they had a really nice meet. We were happy with Brooke and that Rachel [Krengel] got an 8.625 on the balance beam [8.90 was the state cut]. Overall, they had a really good meet for them.”
Kerr: Sansweet finished with the best score on the uneven parallel bars, awarded an 8.55. She ended the meet in 16th place and wasn’t close to the state cutoff of 9.10. Did you think any of your gymnasts could hit the state marks?
Settles: “My colleagues would ask, ‘Do you think you have any chance of going on?’ I thought if we did get someone it would be a great surprise. I was being realistic. The girls are good, but for them to move on, we needed to kick it up a notch. We didn’t talk about moving on or not moving on. The focus was having a good meet and I felt confident they did.”
More Top Picks Best Chef Shoes
Kerr: Krengel, Buranosky and Sansweet are all eligible to return in 2015-16. What would you hope they got out of the sectional competition?
Settles: “I want them to see the great competition and say ‘Wow. I want to do that well and get on that podium.’ We have no standouts. They have the ability to be more competitive, but that desire isn’t coming through. Maybe it’s because they are young. My hope is that now they have the experience and they have seen what is out there and that they will have that desire inside. I hope they work on upgrades [to routines]. They totally have the ability.”
Jon Kerr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.