There was no doubt that Saturday’s Independents Conference Meet would be a two-team race between DeKalb/Sycamore Co-op and host Oswego Co-op.
What was in doubt was whether or not the weather would cause the meet to be postponed.
Fortunately, the teams were able to get to Oswego safely as DeKalb/Sycamore Co-op scored a season-best 140.4 points to win the championship convincingly. Runner-up Oswego Co-op posted a 135.9.
“This serves us well going into regionals because we’re not the top-ranked team going in there [at WW South],” DeKalb/Sycamore Co-op coach Andy Morreale said. “But I think the other teams will see our score and maybe look over their shoulder a bit then.”
Senior Meredith Whisenhunt paced DeKalb/Sycamore, winning the all-around with a career-best 36.9. She also claimed top honors on vault with a 9.65 and bars with a 9.15.
“I wasn’t expecting to win the all-around because I hadn’t been placing that well,” Whisenhunt said. “It was a very good team meet today. We only counted two falls, which is like a record for us this year, and on beam we didn’t count any.
Alison Morreale (35.525) was third in the all-around for DeKalb/Sycamore, while Katelyn Nelson scored a 34.275 and Katrina Baum had a 33.5. Morreale also won beam with a 9.15.
Fenton senior Taylor Patton won the floor exercise with a 9.15 and was second in the all-around with a 36.2.
“I’m still kind of shocked that I won floor,” she said. “I don’t know what to say. I was really nervous before I started and just focused on my passes and not going out of bounds.”
Oswego Co-op’s top all-arounder was Alayna Dieter with a 34.35. Alexia Stamas added a 33.5 and Jordyn Anderson recorded a 9.25 on vault.
“We’re really pleased with how we finished,” Oswego Co-op coach Sarah Dugan said. “The girls have worked really hard this year and now we’ll head into next week’s regional.”
Sadly, Oswego Co-op lost Mackenzie Kennedy to a leg injury during the floor exercise. The Oswego East sophomore had to be wheeled out on a stretcher. She had a 9.05 on vault earlier in the meet.
“I was really happy with the way we started and the way we finished, even after what happened to Megan,” Oswego Co-op junior Megan Dobbetin said. “It shows how close we are as a team and how we could rally together and finish strong for her.
Dobbetin tied for fourth on beam with an 8.65 and was fourth on floor with an 8.8.
