According to New Trier freshman gymnast Maeve Murdock, sharing a first-place medal on balance beam at the state meet actually was better than winning it outright.
That’s because Murdock was co-champion with her longtime friend Caleigh Pistorius, a sophomore at Maine South. They both scored 9.425 on beam in the event finals on Saturday in Palatine.
Murdock and Pistorius train together in the offseason and have known one another since they were roughly 8 and 7, respectively. Also, Pistorius is the daughter of New Trier coach Jen Pistorius.
“So happy. That’s perfect. That’s the best that could have ever happened,” said Murdock, a Glencoe resident. “I was so happy when I saw the (final) score (equaled that of Caleigh Pistorius).”
But better than winning it outright?
“Oh my gosh, are you kidding? I couldn’t think of anything better,” Murdock said.
Murdock entered the finals ranked seventh after a score of 9.2750 in Friday’s preliminaries. But Murdock nailed a finals routine she said was highlighted by her flip-flop layout step-out.
“(My) best routine of the season,” said Murdock, who was one of three Trevians to earn an individual medal (top five) at state. “I kind of surprised myself. It went really well.”
New Trier finished fifth (145.100) in Friday’s team competition. It was the Trevians’ first visit to state since 2014, and their highest finish since 2013, when they finished fourth
Individual medalists
New Trier freshman Avery Faulkner closed out the meet on Saturday by tying for fourth on floor exercise (9.525).
Earlier in the event finals, Faulkner finished sixth on beam (9.100), and admitted to Jen Pistorius she had been slightly nervous for event.
That is understandable considering it was Faulkner’s first time in the event finals, where gymnasts compete one at a time, in front of a large crowd and under a video board hanging from the gym ceiling.
Trevians junior Emma Jane Rohrer, meanwhile, was the only New Trier gymnast who entered the finals with state-meet experience, having placed second on beam last year. She said that experience was instrumental in her successful performance on uneven bars this year, an event in which she tied for third (9.500).
“I was used to the whole one person going at a time, one event, everyone looking at you and (you) seeing your face on the screen above,” said Rohrer, who lives in Winnetka. “I tried not to look (at the screen) this time because I knew that would throw me off. I’d be like, ‘Oh my gosh, my face is up there.’ I just focused on staying in the zone.”
Faulkner and Rohrer also competed in the all-around competition on Friday. Faulkner came in 13th (37.100) and Rohrer was 16th (36.550)
Trevians resilient
In the team competition, New Trier started well on vault (37.225) before faltering slightly on bars (35.700) and beam (35.075), and then rebounding on floor (37.100).
“We finished fifth, I thought it would be better, but we had falls on bars and beam,” Jen Pistorius said. “We hit vault and hit floor. We can’t change anything. I know the girls were prepared and they tried hard. I’m proud of what they did considering we are so inexperienced.”
She added: “To be down in the dumps a bit after bars and beam and then to come back and hit floor the way they did, I’m so proud of them.”
Smith honored
Senior co-captain Ally Smith was part of the Trevians’ team squad, competing on vault, beam and floor. Later that evening, she earned another prestigious honor when she was named the Illinois High School Girls Gymnastics Coaches Association Senior Gymnast of the Year at the organization’s banquet.
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Jen Pistorius said Smith received the award because of her athletic exploits, leadership, performance in the classroom and extracurricular activities. Smith is scheduled to attend Pennsylvania next year and is interested in studying engineering.
“She’s a great leader,” Jen Pistorius said. “She (only) was a level-5 gymnast as an eighth-grader, but she worked her way up, worked hard to compete all these higher-level tricks. She has a tremendous work ethic and she’s a brilliant student.”
Smith said she was “floored” to receive the award.
“This award means so much because I’ve worked so hard the past four years. The award was also based on academics and extracurriculars, which made it even more special,” said Smith, who is on the leadership team for New Trier’s Society of Women in Engineering, Entrepreneurship, Technology and Science (SWEETS) Club, teaches gymnastics to children and is a finalist for a National Merit Scholarship.
Smith added: “This weekend (at state) was such a blast, and the award was just the perfect way to finish high school gymnastics.”
Dan Shalin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press