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Carmel’s Feely wins eighth state medal
Palatine Friday, 2/15/13 Carmel's Lauren Feely performs on the Beam during Friday's Girls State Gymnastics meet at Palatine High School. | Brian O'Mahoney~for Sun-Times Media ORG XMIT: 01100712A
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Updated: February 18, 2013 8:35PM
PALATINE — Carmel might not win a fourth consecutive team state girls gymnastics title, but it will still go home with hardware in 2013.
In a thrilling finish in the all-around competition, senior Lauren Feely outlasted Prairie Ridge’s Rachael Underwood and Lyons’ Kelsy Kurfirst. Feely won her eighth state medal with a score of 38.700. Underwood and Kurfirst both finished with a score of 38.550.
There was much intrigue in the final rotation, and it came down to Feely and Kurfirst. Going first in the vault, Feely received a score of 9.90, best on the night. Going last in the uneven bars, Kurfirst needed a score of 9.775 to win. She scored 9.625, good enough to win the event, but just short to catch Feely for the all-around championship.
“I was watching and it was a great routine. I was going, ‘Oh,’ ” Feely said of Kurfirst’s uneven bars routine. “My coach was crunching the numbers so I knew (I’d won). It was amazing. I’ve worked so hard these past few years. I’m so happy it all came together.”
The top 10 gymnasts in each individual event qualify for Saturday’s final round. Feely won the balance beam and the floor. Carmel teammate, senior Sarah Cohen-Smith, was runner-up in the vault. Lake Forest’s Kylie Carlson finished in eighth place in the all-around and pushed through to Saturday in the floor (second place).
Another highlight from the first night of competition was provided by New Trier’s Kerry Scafidi. The senior finished fourth in the all-around and also qualified for Saturday night’s final round in the uneven parallel bars (tied for seventh place) and the floor exercise (fifth place). As a team, New Trier ended the night in fourth place (145.350).
“For being at state and having all the pressure on us, I thought we did really well,” Scafidi said. “With the whole environment, I was impressed. Everybody hit well.”
Prairie Ridge (co-op) leads the team competition with a score of 149.300. Lyons is in second place (149.050), Fremd third (146.000). Lake Forest is in sixth place (143.675).
Saturday’s final round begins at 5:45 p.m.
Pick up your local Pioneer Press newspaper on Thursday to read more about the state gymnastics tournament.
