One of the Niles North girls gymnastics team’s end-of-season goals, junior all-arounder Kaylie VanDoren said, is to beat Glenbrook North at the Central Suburban North conference meet on Friday, Jan. 29. If the Vikings finish in front of the Spartans, it would likely give Niles North a share of the conference championship.
“Since we’re switching [to the Central Suburban South] next year, it’s our last chance at winning this conference,” VanDoren said.
Glenbrook North beat Niles North 132.45-124.60 on Tuesday, Dec. 8, in Skokie, but the Vikings have tried to close the gap in the weeks since then. The Niles North gymnasts have been working on, and implementing, advanced skills in order to increase their difficulty levels.
VanDoren, for example, debuted a flip-flop on beam at the Niles North Invite on Saturday, Jan. 16. She also did a more difficult roundoff on floor exercise. VanDoren scored a 7.20 (18th place) on beam and a 7.90 (tied for 19th) on floor exercise.
VanDoren finished seventh (30.725 points) in the all-around. She helped the Vikings finish fourth (94.85) out of 12 teams at the Niles North Invite. Three gymnasts per school competed in each event and all three scores counted. In a traditional meet, five gymnasts compete in each event and the top four scores count toward the team total.
“I landed the new things,” VanDoren said. “I’m glad I did my new stuff, but there’s always room for improvement.”
Specifically, VanDoren plans on focusing on some of the old elements of her routines that she hasn’t spent as much time working on recently.
VanDoren has less than two weeks before Niles North’s postseason begins with the Central Suburban North meet in Skokie.
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“Since it’s at home, we feel better about [challenging for conference], too,” VanDoren added.
VanDoren’s twin sister, Kyra VanDoren, earned team-best scores on floor exercise (8.60, fourth), vault (8.50, tied for 16th) and beam (8.10, sixth). Freshman Kathryn Gomez finished 13th on uneven bars (7.55) to pace the Vikings.
Eric Van Dril is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter: @VanDrilSports