Boys gymnastics state tournament: Glenbrook South’s Jeremy Fine pushes through arm pain

HINSDALE — Glenbrook South gymnast Jeremy Fine has been fighting through pain and discomfort as he recovers from a broken right forearm suffered in October.

Fine, the only Glenbrook South representative at state last weekend, qualified for six events: the all-around, floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings, vault and high bar.

Before every practice and every meet, the junior does electrical stimulation on his forearm to help relieve pain. It’s thought that the stimulation temporarily blocks pain signals the nerves send to the brain. Before the all-around on May 16, he said he cranked up his machine to a high setting for 20 minutes to get maximum relief.

Fine is still sore while competing and is in some pain during his events. He compensates with his shoulder, and now that’s been hurting, too. Yet, he said that the pain doesn’t affect how he performs.

“I’ve pushed through it this season,” Fine said. “Thus far, it’s paid off.”

At state, his best showing was in the still rings. Fine finished 24th out of 51 competitors with a score of 8.3. Reaching state itself was an accomplishment for Fine.

“It feels awesome,” Fine said. “To kind of be able to say that I was at my lowest point and I got all the way back up, I think that’s awesome.”

Glenbrook North’s Corey Snyder competes on the floor exercise during the state meet at Hinsdale Central on May 16. | Steve Johnston/for Sun-Times Media

Glenbrook North

The Spartans sent four gymnasts to state for individual events. Senior Noah Berkowitz finished 19th in the floor exercise (8.85), and seniors Ben Stoehr and Philip Morreale had solid showings in the vault. Stoehr came in 20th (8.85) and Morreale ended up 30th (8.75).

Junior Corey Snyder participated in five events: the all-around, pommel horse, still rings, parallel bars and horizontal bar. His highest finish was 17th in the all-around, where a strong floor exercise (8.7) and vault (8.8) pushed him to a score of 48.05. The experience was a memorable one for Snyder.

“The crowd energy was great,” Snyder said. “Even if it wasn’t for me, it’s amazing. It was really loud, I’ve never had that before. Seeing all this good gymnastics and being around it, it was great.”

Snyder was a club gymnast until eighth grade, and he still practices three or four times a week. Last weekend was his third time at state.

“It’s great,” he said. “Hopefully make it a four-peat next year.”

Niles North

Vikings senior Scott Wong made his third trip to state and finished with a score of 8.15 on the parallel bars, which was good for a 33rd-place finish.

“I was really happy for him, that he got a chance to be a three-time state qualifier,” coach Richard Meyer said. “We don’t have that too often in our neck of the woods here. Nonetheless, he did a great job.”

Also, junior Allen Nou finished 36th in the floor exercise (8.65) and senior Joel Eric came in 50th in the still rings (6.75). Sophomore Davin Kaiser came in 54th in the floor exercise (8.25).

Kaiser was a solid contributor all year for the Vikings, a usual third or fourth scorer. The team had several sophomores on varsity this year and Meyer said that Niles North can have just as many state qualifiers in 2015.

“I fully anticipate to have four more there again next year,” Meyer said.

Maine South

Senior Nico Mikhail, Maine South’s lone gymnast at state, qualified for two events. He finished 26th in the floor exercise (8.8) and 48th in the vault (8.35).