Chardon, West G Gymnastics Win Conference Title
"When I was here, there were just two schools here. Now we have 10 schools. It's crazy." Coach Javorek
The Hilltoppers took the Premier Athletic Conference; West Geauga won the CVC.
The Chardon Hilltoppers varsity gymnastics won the last Premier Athletic Conference title, edging out Riverside and North, the only other two schools with full teams.
Led by freshmen Lily Baker, Kayla Benjamin and Emily Phillips, the ‘Toppers, who have six girls, are full of young talent under head coach Don Shutz.
Shutz works with the other 10 schools and seven coaches who practice together at West Geauga High School, one of very few high schools that actually have equipment. Shutz’s coaching specialty is the uneven bars.
“This is a very, very talented group,” Shutz said. “We are very skilled, and we are only going to get better.” Shutz anticipates Baker, Benjamin and Phillips will qualify for the state meet.
The girls get along great.
“I think everything went really well,” said Benjamin, who finished first in bars, beam and floor exercise. “The competition have been good, and everything has been solid.”
Added Baker, “It’s nice to get some recognition because some of the past teams didn’t get a lot.”
Ally McKelvey is a junior and team captain. She broke her right wrist in the offseason, but is hoping to get back on the bars soon.
“I give them advice when I can, and I just support them,” she said.
Phillips, like most gymnasts, also competes in club gymnastics in the offseason.
“It’s a lot more fun, and a lot more team stuff that you do together,” she said of the high school season.
Madelyn Hamulak has had a strong sophomore year, and winning the team title was important to her.
Jessica Liechty said this team was closer than in years past.
That same night, the Wolverines are back-to-back Chagrin Valley Conference champions, taking the gymnastics title inside the Wolvarena with the help of Caroline Wolfhope, Madelynne Prosek and Alexis Ange.
Head coach Gina Javorek was proud of her gymnasts.
Javorek is a middle school math teacher and won four state championships on the balance beam when she was at West Geauga, from 2002 to 2006.
“I am so proud of them,” Javorek said after the meet, which the Wolverines won, just barely, over Kenston, 129.95 to 129.075. “I was nervous because we had a girl who wasn’t here, so I didn’t know how we were going to do. But we really pulled together.”
It took the floor exercise, which is a West Geauga strength, to pull the team through.
Ange finished with a 9.1 on the floor. Wolfhope and Prosek finished third and fourth overall.
“We were a little worried at first, but we pulled it through on the floor,” said Prosek, a sophomore. “It was nerve-wracking. Usually we are in a smaller gym, but bringing it here makes it more stressful.”
West Geauga usually participates in the high school’s auxiliary gym.
The Wolverines 2014 and 2015 championships are the first time the team has won since Javorek, formerly Gastaldo, was a senior.
“It’s so fun,” she said. “When I was here, there were just two schools here. Now we have 10 schools. It’s crazy. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. That’s how we work together.”
“It felt really good,” added sophomore Allison D’Alessandro. “(Gymnastics) are tough sometimes with conditioning, but this feels good.”
