Barrington gymnast Abby Hasanov already had one individual state title, and she believed she could win another. That’s why the events of the preliminary round at the state meet Friday didn’t faze her.
Hasanov, the defending state champion on the uneven parallel bars, fell during her prelim routine at Palatine.
“It was a lot of pressure going into it. I knew I had to uphold the title,” said Hasanov, a junior. “After I fell on bars, I knew my best chance was on floor [exercise].”
She was right, as her 9.72 in the floor exercise earned her a second individual state championship Saturday.
All season, floor had been Hasanov’s strongest event. She stuck her routines consistently. At the Lake Park Sectional on Feb. 12, she scored a 9.55 on floor to earn a top 5 state-qualifying bid.
In preparation for the state series, Fillies coach Jason Loeffler adjusted Hasanov’s routine. Excess movements were thrown out. A double pike on her first pass was added in, along with more presentation after her landings.
“You used to be able to step out of every landing, now it’s a deduction,” Loeffler said. “We tweaked her routine where she’s sticking, holding and moving on.”
Hasanov added: “I would land my tricks and make sure I made my landing before the next move. People said it was like I had glue on my feet.”
Hasanov performed fourth in the 12-gymnast rotation Saturday night. Once Hasanov stuck her first-pass double pike, the rest of her routine was close to flawless. After holding her ending pose for an extra heartbeat, she sprinted off the floor and into the celebratory arms of her teammates.
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“That’s one thing I did different. When I finish, I usually walk off. But I ran off,” Hasanov said. “I knew it was my best routine and [the Fillies] were there to cheer and hug me.”
Her score of 9.725 was the highest at the time. But eight more gymnasts still had to perform on floor, and although she was confident, there was no guarantee Hasanov’s score would hold up.
“I was kind of like, ‘I don’t know.’ I was on my toes,” she said.
When every gymnast had completed her routine, Hasanov’s score was the best (DeKalb sophomore Aleah Leman finished second at 9.625). She had her second consecutive title.
“She nailed every aspect. No bobbles. It was perfect. By far her best routine of the year,” Loeffler said.
As a team, Barrington equaled last year’s finish of fourth with a score of 144.275 (Prairie Ridge won at 150). Loeffler said the Fillies might have surpassed Fremd’s third-place score of 146.625 if not for a pre-state series season-ending knee injury to senior Jessica Lee and an ankle injury suffered by junior Molly Blanke at the sectional meet.
Loeffler didn’t know whether Blanke would compete at state until Friday. He credited trainer Russ Schellhase for getting Blanke ready in time to perform and help the Fillies earn a team medal.
“I told the assistant coaches, ‘We want to go place top four. But we have to hit everything we’ve got,’ ” Loeffler said. “We have a team that is willing to rally and go through so much for the benefit of their teammates. When it all comes together, it is cool to watch and cool to be a part of.”
Jon Kerr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.