Wolf, Scafidi Advance for Trevians in Gymnastics Sectionals

Even with a relatively young squad, New Trier had visions of advancing to the state championships as a team.

But on Thursday night at the Niles North Sectional, New Trier couldn’t put it all together, falling more than three points short of their season-high with a score of 140.850. The Trevians finished third overall behind Prospect (141.925) and Schaumburg High School (147.400) after winning their conference and regional titles.

“Everybody was a little nervous going in to today, but I think they handled the pressure pretty well,” New Trier coach Jennifer Pistorius said. “Beam was a little shaky but that’s to be expected when you’re a little nervous in a big situation.”

Senior Monica Wolf garnered the only top-5 finish for the Trevians, finishing fourth in the vault. Sophomore Kerry Scafidi earned an at-large spot into the state championships after finishing seventh in the vault.

“It’s not the event they both want to be in, but at least they’re going,” Pistorius said.

Wolf seemed disappointed about her performance. Her all-around score of 36.225 was almost a point lower than the score she posted at CSL South Championships. She finished eighth overall in the all-around.

“I personally was doing high all-arounds and then that went somewhere; I don’t know where,” Wolf said. “It’s frustrating, but what can you do about it?”

Scafidi’s performance in the vault was a nice surprise. She only started practicing the event in the middle of the season because of an ankle injury, but Pistorius called it her best vault of the year.

Even with a disappointing finish, Pistorius noted that competing at sectionals this season will serve her team well in the upcoming years.

“That’s good experience for Elana [Benishay] as a freshman,” Pistorius said. “And also we’ve got a bunch of sophomores.”

Benishay finished in the middle of the pack in most of her events. Her best finish was 14th in the vault.

Scafidi took 11th in the all-around and Benishay finished in 17th place. Senior Lauren Cannon also finished 13th in balance beam.

The state championships will be held next Friday and Saturday at Palatine High School.

“It was a good season. We are proud of what we did and everything,” Scafidi said. “It’s a bummer that we didn’t make state, but we’re proud that we were able to win regionals and conference.”

Individual Scores:

Vault: Monica Wolf – 9.475, Kerry Scafidi – 9.425, Elana Benishay – 9.025, Lauren Cannon – 8.850, Ashley Lipasek – 8.700

Balance Beam: Monica Wolf – 8.925, Lauren Cannon – 8.875, Kerry Scafidi – 8.850, Jeannie Round – 8.450, Elana Benishay – 8.350,

Uneven Bars: Monica Wolf – 8.550, Elana Benishay – 8.425, Kerry Scafidi – 8.350, Ashley Lipasek – 7.875

Floor: Monica Wolf – 9.275, Kerry Scafidi – 9.025, Elana Benishay – 8.950

All-Around Scores: Monica Wolf – 36.225, Kerry Scafidi – 35.650, Elana Benishay – 34.750