Gymnastics: Wajswol, Mundelein thrilled to pick up at-large berth to sectional meet
By Bill McLean Contributor February 1, 2012 7:14PM
Mundelein's Nicole Ornoff competes on the uneven bars during last week's regional at Lake Forest High School. | Dan Luedert~Sun-Times Media
Updated: March 10, 2012 8:09AM
Mundelein High School senior gymnast Lisa Wajswol and her teammates received a text message from their coach, Nancy Toland, on Friday.
It was about what to pack for Saturday’s practice.
“We were told,” said Wajswol, “to bring gym shoes.”
Wajswol wasn’t exactly thrilled about the prospect of running. But Toland might have had something else in mind.
“You never know with Toland,” Wajswol, a captain, said.
What Mundelein’s Mustangs knew, officially, on Friday night, after waiting for the final regional to conclude: They had qualified, as an at-large team, to compete at this week’s Niles North Sectional.
Toland’s squad finished runner-up (141.5 points) at the Lake Forest Regional on Jan. 31 — the sectional’s first regional.
Jenn Wallace, one of Toland’s assistants, performed for the last Mundelein team (2003-04) to advance to a sectional.
“It’s always better when you get in as a team,” said Wajswol, an individual sectional qualifier a year ago. “We were really determined to do that.”
And it showed.
On the balance beam, in particular.
The Mustangs’ top four finishers in the event did not fall, and three of them qualified automatically as top-five placers: freshman Mac Kehr (champion, 9.4), Wajswol (third, 9.05) and freshman Nicole Ornoff (fourth, 8.975).
“We were consistent, and our lead-off girl (junior Katie Schall) on beam set a nice, positive tone,” Toland said. “We worked hard on beam in practice; it paid off.”
The key beam drill: Toland’s girls had to hit four straight beam routines in pre-regional practices, or start all over until they went 4-for-4.
“It could have lasted 15 minutes,” the coach said. “Or three hours.”
Wajswol spent a good amount of time on a podium after the regional meet. She also collected medals for her efforts in the all-around (second, 36.95), floor exercise (second, 9.55), vault (third-place tie, 9.325) and uneven bars (fifth, 9.025).
“The best thing about Lisa is how strong she is, mentally,” Toland noted. “If she falls, or doesn’t score what she wanted to score in a meet, she doesn’t worry about. She moves on.”
Kehr took third in the all-around (36.35) and also advanced on vault (third-place tie, 9.325), bars (at-large, 8.9) and floor (at-large, 8.725).
Mustangs sophomore Maya Nienaber gets to compete at the sectional in the all-around (at-large, 34.875), vault (fifth-place tie, 9.275) and bars (at-large, 8.5).
Kendall Smith, Kelsey Toland and Laura Azzarello also executed routines at last week’s regional.
“Our warm-up session went well,” Wajswol recalled. “The radio was on, and we were singing and dancing. The music … It helped us get rid of our nervousness, and it put us all in a good mood.”
On the schedule: The Niles North Sectional starts at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 9. Other teams in the field: two-time reigning state champion Carmel, Stevenson, Lake Forest, New Trier and Libertyville, the other at-large qualifier.
Flashback: Nienaber finished 23rd in the all-around (35.45) and Wajswol tied for 16th place on vault (9.35) at last year’s Stevenson’s Sectional.
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