Hersey freshman Nate Mabry wasn’t born to be a gymnast, but he was destined to be a star in the sport.
Mabry was introduced to gymnastics by his mother, Melissa, who enrolled him in a local park district class when he was just 18 months old.
“We did a Mommy and Me class, and he always loved it,” Melissa Mabry said. “Then he did a summer camp, and eventually they asked him to be on a team.”
Nate Mabry was 7 when he joined the club team at American Academy of Gymnastics. He rose steadily through the ranks and recently reached Level 10, one step below the level from which Olympic gymnasts are picked.
It’s heady stuff for someone so young, but Mabry is proving he has the levelheaded mentality to handle the success his physical skills have brought.
That was clear Friday night at the state meet at Hoffman Estates, where Mabry finished second in the all-around competition. His score of 55.95 was a career high by more than a point and just 0.10 behind the champion, Palatine junior John Pirone.
Buffalo Grove senior Benjamin Valak was third at 55.4, and Glenbrook North junior Kian Sullivan took fourth at 55.2.
It was a stunning achievement for Mabry. He barely missed becoming the first freshman to win the all-around state championship since Glenbard West’s Alex Diab in 2012.
The last freshman to finish as the runner-up was Elk Grove’s Nick Persino in 2002, so Mabry was surprised with his showing.
“Absolutely,” Mabry said. “I knew it was possible, but I was not expecting to do as well as I did.
“It was a great week of practice, and everything just felt right tonight.”
‘Stay calm’
Nate Mabry had never competed in front of a crowd so large, but he embraced the atmosphere at the state meet.
“It was incredibly exciting,” he said. “Everybody was cheering for each other. Nobody was wishing bad upon anybody else. It was awesome.”
Melissa Mabry also was a gymnast at Hersey. She didn’t qualify for state before she graduated in 1995, so watching her son do it was special.
“I was not a club kid, but I always kind of wanted to be (a state qualifier),” she said. “But compared to other sports, gymnastics is pretty tough.
“I was so emotional the last event because it was a dream come true. My coach from high school, Dave Calisch, is a coach at Hoffman, so it’s just so many memories. I couldn’t be prouder.”
Calisch, who is the girls gymnastics coach at Hoffman Estates, was at the meet and got to witness his former gymnast’s child succeed in dramatic fashion.
Nate Mabry said he loves everything about gymnastics except for pommel horse, which most gymnasts consider the toughest of the six events.
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That was his final event at state, and he needed to stick his routine to assure himself a spot on the awards podium. The top five finishers receive medals.
“I chose not to look (at the standings), but I knew I was up there somewhere,” Mabry said. “(The key) is try to stay calm before you get up there.”
Mabry did just that, hitting his routine for a 9.15.
What was he feeling when he dismounted?
“Relief,” he said. “Total relief.”
The performance briefly put Mabry in the lead with one competitor remaining. That gymnast was Pirone, who scored a 9.4 on pommel horse to claim the all-around title.
“After John Pirone was done on horse, I went over, and my teammates showed me (the standings),” Mabry said. “It was awesome.”
Best yet to come
First place was not on Mabry’s radar going into the state meet, although he did have high expectations.
He finished fifth at the Palatine Sectional with a score of 53.9. That was the seventh-best sectional score in the state but 1.85 points behind Pirone, who had the highest sectional mark.
“When he came in before the season, he had a goal, which was actually to place top five in all-around and make it to state on each of the events,” Hersey coach Joon Yun said. “I told him that he had the potential.
“He just had to stay focused, clean up his routines, and he did it. He had the best routines of his career so far, so that worked out.”
Mabry works at least 20 hours per week in the gym honing his skills. Those were ready for the big stage, and Yun helped him stay calm.
“He was ready to go,” Yun said. “He was fired up when he got here, and he was determined. I played jokes with him here and there to kind of loosen him up, but he was focused.”
Indeed, Mabry hit all six of his routines. He scored a 9.6 on vault; a 9.35 on floor exercise, parallel bars and high bar; and a 9.15 on still rings and pommel horse.
Yun, who has coached at Hersey for 12 years, said it was the best performance he has seen by one of his gymnasts.
“It definitely shows how talented he is, and he works really hard,” Yun said. “He’s pretty down-to-earth.
“He’s friends with a lot of people. He will joke around, but like today, when he’s focused, he can get things done.”
Mabry got things done in the event finals on Saturday too. The top 10 gymnasts plus ties on each event from Friday’s competition qualified for the finals, and he made the grade in all six.
Mabry earned two more medals by capturing second place on high bar with a 9.5 and fifth place on still rings with a score of 9.0, tying with Prospect senior Joe Kall and Lyons senior Randy Yonan.
Mabry also finished seventh on pommel horse at 8.6; eighth on vault with a 9.1; ninth on parallel bars, tying with Sullivan at 9.25; and 12th on floor exercise at 8.9.
Valak won vault with a 9.5 and scored a 9.45 to share the pommel horse title with Pirone and Palatine senior Trey Wilcox.
As the only freshman to finish in the top 10 in the all-around and to qualify for more than two individual event finals, Mabry has a bright future.
“It’s hard to say what event is best,” Yun said. “He’s a well-rounded gymnast.”
Mabry already is one of the best gymnasts in Hersey history, but he’s just getting started. He wants to become the program’s third to win the all-around state title, joining 1970 champion Gary Morava and 1984 champion Chris Waller. Waller won his title as a sophomore and competed in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
“I’m coming back next year, trying to get first,” Mabry said. “It would be so awesome to bring a championship back to Hersey.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.