Katie Wahl likely won’t do her double backflip dismount on the uneven bars at the girls gymnastics state meet later this week, but the junior has regained nearly all of her other skills after she suffered a concussion earlier this season.
Wahl missed about a month due to that concussion, which happened when she hit her head on the bar on her double backflip dismount. She did her first somersault above the bar and on her way down she hit her head, according to Glenbrook South coach Steve Gale.
“I’ve had to work really hard to come back to where I am today,” Wahl said. “I’m really proud of being able to come back and compete.”
Wahl was cleared to return on Wednesday, Jan. 6, but she took a cautious approach early on. Her first meet after her concussion was the Evanston Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 9. Wahl only competed on vault that day.
Wahl’s easier skills returned quickly, she said, and she worked with her coaches — both at Glenbrook South and Dreams Gymnastics in Glenview — to regain many of her more difficult tricks before the biggest meets of her season, including the Mundelein Sectional on Tuesday, Feb. 9.
“A couple weeks ago I kind of hit a road block on bars, and I started getting really stressed out,” Wahl said. “My coaches were really good. They helped me. … They helped me stay calm and focus on what I could do, and then have everything fall into place.”
Wahl was one of the standouts at the Mundelein Sectional. Wahl won uneven bars with a 9.35 — in part because she did a connected half-turn to bail on the high bar, which is a high-level skill she didn’t get back until the day before the sectional.
Wahl also finished tied for third on vault (9.40). It was by far her highest score of the season on vault, she said. Wahl earned an automatic state berth on bars and vault. She also qualified for state on balance beam (seventh, 9.10) and in the all-around (seventh, 36.475).
“I’m really proud of where I am,” Wahl said after the sectional.
Sophomore Bebe Haramaras (all-around, 36.075) was the only other Titans gymnast to qualify for state. The two-day state meet begins on Friday, Feb. 19, at Palatine. It concludes with the state finals the following day.
New Trier
Carmel junior Samantha Lococo, Barrington senior Abby Hasanov and DeKalb junior Aleah Leman are the favorites on balance beam going into the state gymnastics meet. All three scored higher than 9.5 on beam at their respective sectional meets.
New Trier sophomore Emma Jane Rohrer received a 9.125 on beam at the Mundelein Sectional on Tuesday, Feb. 9, but she too has the potential to win a state championship on beam. She just has to stay on the beam.
Rohrer scored a 9.025 at the Central Suburban South meet on Saturday, Jan. 30. Rohrer fell off of the beam in that meet, too.
In spite of the fall, which is a half-point deduction, Rohrer earned an automatic state berth on beam at the sectional by finishing in a tie for fifth. The top five individuals in each event earned automatic berths.
“She is going to stay on the beam one of these days,” New Trier coach Jen Pistorius said following the Central Suburban South meet.
Rohrer fell early on in her beam routine at the sectional, but she recovered very well. The rest of her difficult routine was clean and executed crisply.
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Staying on the beam “is harder than it seems,” Rohrer said at the sectional. “[People are] like, ‘You’ve just got to make it.’ It’s really hard to make it.”
Rohrer explained that the key to doing well on beam, especially in a high-stakes environment like the sectional or state, is for her to stay focused and patient as she goes through her routine.
“It’s just making sure you take your time, take one skill at a time and just focus on what you’re doing,” Rohrer said. “Once you make one [difficult element], you’re not done. You have to finish it up. Even after my [standing] back tuck, I still have a full turn [and a] dismount to get through. I can’t just blow it off, like, ‘OK, I’m done,’ and forget about the dismount and full turn.”
Rohrer qualified for state on all four events and in the all-around. She will be joined at state, which begins at Palatine on Friday, Feb. 19, by New Trier senior Taylor Kwok (floor exercise).
Loyola
Falls on balance beam are common at gymnastics meets, but they haven’t been for Claire Sullivan this year. Sullivan, a senior at Loyola, has fallen just once during the 2015-16 season on her favorite event.
A part of the reason for her success, Sullivan explained after finishing second on beam (9.45) at the Mundelein Sectional, is she feels completely comfortable on beam. It’s an event dreaded by many, but not Sullivan.
“It’s so different from the other events,” Sullivan said. “It takes a lot of poise. It’s mostly all confidence, I feel like. Just getting up there and knowing that I’m confident, I know in my head that I can stick the routine. There’s no better feeling than sticking a beam routine.”
Sullivan added that she hopes to make state finals again this year. She finished 10th on beam as a junior.
The state finals take place on Saturday, Feb. 20, at Palatine. Sullivan is scheduled to compete on beam, uneven parallel bars (she tied for third at the sectional, 9.30) and in the all-around (sixth, 36.50) on Friday, Feb. 19.
Niles West
Earlier this season, Niles West coach Sue Arcus praised the way Jasmine Dirks has relearned old tricks and picked up new tricks during her outstanding freshman campaign.
Dirks, who stepped away from gymnastics for two years prior to joining the Wolves’ high school team, picked up one more new skill in the week leading up to the sectional. After the regional, Dirks started piking her Yurchenko vault in practice.
Dirks debuted that trick at the Mundelein Sectional on Tuesday, Feb. 9, and almost stuck it on her first attempt. Dirks flipped through the air and landed on her feet.
“I took a tiny step and I was really shocked,” Dirks said. “I was really happy.”
Dirks was awarded a 9.40 on vault. Soon after she finished competing, she was informed that she had finished in a three-way tie for third place.
Dirks didn’t have to wait to hear if she’d earned an at-large berth to state, like many gymnasts. She had secured an automatic berth.
“I’m excited,” Dirks said with a big smile. “I thought I was going to be close to making it. Since it was my first year, I didn’t think I would make it.”
Dirks is the only Niles West gymnast who advanced to state.
Niles North and Glenbrook North
Neither Niles North nor Glenbrook North advanced any athletes to the state meet, but gymnasts on both teams were inspired at the end of the Mundelein Sectional.
The Spartans, who competed as a team at the sectional, are slated to return their entire roster. Being in the sectional setting, as a group, was a big deal for Glenbrook North.
“We were all really excited about [qualifying for the sectional as a team],” junior Alex Michalak said. “It’s nice that this is pretty much going to be our team for next year, I’m assuming, so we have another year together.”
Michalak added that it was inspiring to be in the same meet as a team like Carmel, which won the Mundelein Sectional easily with 146.275 points.
Niles North sophomore Athena Xidis agreed.
“It’s motivating,” Xidis said. “You want to get as good as them, especially by the time you’re a senior. That’s the goal.”
Xidis plans on training in the offseason, she said, and would like to incorporate more difficult elements into some of her routines. One example is giants on bars, and a Tsukahara pike is a possibility on vault.
“I just want to increase my skills on every event [for next year] and hopefully make state,” she said.
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Eric Van Dril is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter: @VanDrilSports