Larkin aims high at own invite

Font Size

Email

Bookmark

Black Text

White Text

Larkin will host the 25th annual Larkin Royal Gymnastics Invitational Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Larkin/Elgin girls team finished in 10th last season and this year has its goal set on a top-half finish among the 15 teams competing in the meet.

In mid-December, the girls won the Niles West Invitational, but this weekend's event is made up of a much stronger field.

The meet -- which features defending champion Buffalo Grove, as well as strong teams from Neuqua Valley, Mundelein and WW South -- will be hotly contested and will put the young Larkin/Elgin team in a position to find continued improvement from individuals.

"We don't worry about wins and losses as much as season-highs (and) career-highs," Larkin/Elgin coach Bob Todd said. "Each meet the kids are getting better."

The Larkin/Elgin team is led by a pair of sophomores in Andrea Vercelli and Brady Kirkland. Vercelli -- who was a sectional qualifier last season -- often finishes in the top two for the team at events.

"(Vercelli's) gotten close to (matching her) season-high last year on the all-around," Todd said. "She's going to get better and get more confident. I expect her to pass her career-highs between now and the end of season."

Kirkland has returned after suffering a sprained ankle at the start of the season but is still feeling its effects.

"She was off the equipment for seven weeks, so she has to relearn a lot," Todd said. "Her endurance isn't where it needs to be yet. She's getting through the routine, but kind of dying at the end of it. She'll only get better."

Todd also notes the presence of senior Lizzy Niles as someone who will contribute and fill in if the team is short a gymnast.

"Her best event has been the vault and she's gotten pretty good at uneven bars," Todd said. "She's athletic and competitive."

As the host team, Todd says he expects the girls to be as excited as they were during Larkin/Elgin's matchup with South Elgin/Bartlett at a crowded MEGA gymnastics academy in late December.

"Once the gym gets set up, they'll have fun," Todd said.

The meet also has a unique format, as each team selects four girls to compete in an event, with all of their scores counting towards the team score. That puts more of an emphasis on mistake-free routines.

"You can't make any mistakes," Todd said. "It's meant to give everyone a chance to win the meet."