Naperville Central battling injuries before season begins

Naperville Central’s longtime girls gymnastics coach, Glen Reimers, recently hurt his back assisting one of his athletes during practice. Senior Brittany Mitchell broke her hand last week.

It’s certainly not the way to begin a new season, but the Redhawks will persevere, even if it’s painful to do so.

“Nothing’s set yet, so we’ll see what happens this week,” Reimers said. “We ran a mock meet for tryouts and the girls didn’t throw much of anything, so we’re still trying to figure things out.”

The Redhawks have that time to work out the kinks as their first meet isn’t until Dec. 5.

A followup mock meet has been scheduled for this week as Reimers has to determine who will fill what role on a team that welcomes back a nice mix of experienced upperclassmen and welcomes a talented newcomer.

“They’re all fighting hard and want to be here, which is a good thing,” Reimers said. “Vanessa (Henry) and Claire (Savard) will probably be our two anchors, but we’ll have to see how things size up around them.”

Now that Mitchell’s out, juniors Danielle Breeden and Bernadette Villa have an opportunity to contribute more. Lea Savard and Logan Hassler also could be in the mix, although Hassler is shedding some rust after not competing last winter.

“Logan knows it’s going to be tough to get back to where she was when she left as a sophomore,” Reimers said. “She’s working out pretty hard and we’ll have a better idea of what she can do after the first part of the season.”

Sophomore Jill Schuben is new to the squad and will be a welcome addition.

“We’ll see what she can do,” Reimers said. “She’s one of many girls we have fighting hard for spots. It’s going to take some time to see what we have.”

Naperville North has the area’s top gymnast in two-time state qualifier Michaela Robert and will look to defend its DuPage Valley Conference title.

“Michaela has elevated her game and has been having outstanding workouts,” Huskies coach Chris Stanicek said. “Annali Kawaoka and Erika Climo are a strong addition to the program and will be impact gymnasts along with Allie Pecorin.”

New coach Anthony Avella inherits a substantial deal of talent at Neuqua Valley, with junior Emily Jacobs leading the way in a program that boasts nearly 40 gymnasts.

The Waubonsie Valley/Metea Valley co-op also begins a new era with Casey Groah now at the helm. Lexi Beutler is a promising freshman for a squad with limited varsity experience.