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Tucker takes his turn as Titans coach

March 13, 2012 By

The trend in CSL boys gymnastics this season appears to be longtime head coaches switching places with their assistants.

It happened at Niles West, where Steve Foerch swapped jobs with his former assistant Adrian Batista. At Glenbrook South, former skipper Steve Gale is now aiding new head coach Brandon Tucker.

Tucker is a 1995 Glenbrook South graduate who was an all-conference and all-state performer under former head coach Tom Neville. He competed collegiately at University of Illinois.

Tucker’s first team at Glenbrook South appears to be a talented one.

The Titans will miss one of the school’s all-time greats in Adam Klosowiak, who graduated after reaching the finals on five of six events at last year’s IHSA State Meet. But there is plenty back from last year’s squad that finished eighth in the state.

Senior Kevin Hamilton is expected to lead the Titans this season. In 2011, the all-arounder finished fourth in the state on pommel horse.

“I expect him to be one of the best gymnasts in the state this year,” Tucker said about Hamilton, who is a co-captain alongside junior Emilio Isasi. “He’s a leader in the gym and he works as hard as anyone. Even though he was one of the best gymnasts, he’s still our most improved.”

Sophomore Riley Pheriault was the all-around champion at last year’s CSL freshman meet. He competed with the varsity squad at last year’s sectional and state meets.

Tucker said Pheriault could work all-around, but his best events are floor, high bar and vault.

Meanwhile, juniors Trace Powers and Eric Kwasniewski are pommel horse specialists. Other gymnasts from the program’s deep junior class are Av Kahane, Brandon DeGand and Cyril Manjooran.

The Titans already are showing steady improvement this season. They scored 120 during an intrasquad scrimmage, registered 125 in a season-opening dual-meet win over Niles West and then reached 128 at the Hinsdale Central Invite on March 2.

Tucker said he looks forward to scores continuing to climb.

“I think we can get to 140. I think that’s a good goal for now,” he said. “The whole season depends on whether or not we want to improve in the gym every day, every week, knowing it’s hard.”

Glenbrook South is coming off the best regular-season record in the CSL, and ultimately shared honors with conference-meet champ Highland Park/Deerfield.

The Titans coach said he hopes his squad will once again be among the conference elite and contend for state, but will hold of making any predictions.

“Winning the conference and qualifying for state would be great goals, but I’m not sure what the competition looks like,” Tucker said. “It depends more on other teams out there and what they’re scoring. But winning conference and reaching state are always goals.”

The Titans visit Evanston at 6 p.m. today (Thursday) before hosting Stevenson at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

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New Beginnings For GBS Gymnasts

March 13, 2012 By

(Journal Online)  After last year’s first elite eight state appearance and a share of the CSL-South conference title, the 2012 Glenbrook South boys gymnastics team has a big challenge to try and exceed that record.

But they have two big reasons why they can do it.

Kevin Hamilton, a three-time state qualifier and a 2011 state medalist on pommel horse, and Austin Zimmer, a junior and a two-time state qualifier (floor exercise last year). These two are among the best gymnasts in the Journal area this season.

The Titans also have a new head coach and a younger overall squad this spring, as they try to keep a strong tradition of success in this demanding sport going.

Brandon Tucker has moved up from an assistant last year to head man this year. Steve Gale, last year’s head coach, will be an assistant this year. Tucker is a 1995 Titan grad and former gymnast.

“After losing senior all-arounder and five-event state finalist Adam Klosowiak, along with four other varsity seniors, we are looking to rebuild this year’s varsity lineup around Hamilton and Zimmer,” Tucker said. “The rest of the lineup will be filled in by a group of returning juniors Emilio Isasi, Trace Powers, Eric Kwasniewski, Dan Han, Brandon Degand, Av Kahane, and Cyril Manjooran, plus sophomore standout Riley Theriault. Our goals are to improve performances in practices and in meets.”

Last year, the Titans qualified for the IHSA state finals for the first time since 2008 and finished eighth. On another positive note, the Titan JV squad won its conference title last year with a team score of more than 103 points.

Other returning varsity gymnasts this season are juniors Kahane and Powers, and Theriault.

Varsity newcomers are senior Alex Smith and juniors Isasi, Kwasniewski, and Manjooran.

The Titans have gotten off to a promising start in competition so far. They scored 120.40 in an intrasquad meet in February, then improved that by almost five points in a dual victory over Niles West (125.80 to 121.20). They scored 128.90 and finished 3rd at the seven-team Hinsdale Central invite.

In his third trip to state last year, Hamilton nailed his pommel horse routine to finish fourth with 9.15. He also qualified in the all-around scoring and in the other five events.

In his first state meet last year, Zimmer tied for 36th on floor (8.75) and competed in four other events.

The Titans’ main competition in the conference again this season will probably come from the Highland Park-Deerfield Coop, which finished 6th in state last year.

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Klosowiak and Hamilton earn All State Honors

May 22, 2011 By

The Boys gymnastics team completed an outstanding season with a strong showing in the State Finals last weekend in Frankfort, led by senior Adam Klosowiak who placed third on parallel bars with a 9.3 and tied for fifth on floor exercise with a 9.5, earning All-State honors.  Teammate Kevin Hamilton’s exceptional effort on the pommel horse (9.15) merited a fourth place medal and also earned him All State honors in that event.

 

Together with sophomore Austin Zimmer, the three gymnasts represented GBS in the team competition following their sectional victory, and the team placed eighth behind state champion Lincoln-Way East.  The team competition also served as the Individual All Around competition.  In that contest, Klosowiak finished 10th and Hamilton wound up 21st.

 

The state meet was the culmination of a campaign in which the varsity squad finished undefeated in dual meet competition and was the conference co-champs with a combined Deerfield-Highland Park team.  The JV squad similarly was undefeated in duels and was conference champs.

 

Individually, Klosowiak completed a stellar four year Titan career by winning the conference championship on high bar.

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Glenbrook South’s Klosowiak brings home two state medals

May 19, 2011 By

(Glenview Announcements) Glenbrook South’s Adam Klosowiak went out in style at the 60th annual boys state gymnastics finals at Lincoln-Way East in Frankfort. Klosowiak made the finals in five events and came home with two medals.

“I thought a couple days ago I could make the finals in five events,” said Klosowiak, a senior headed to Princeton next fall.

“My prelims, I had the meet of my life. I scored a 54.60 in the all-around, which was great. Then I came back and win two medals. It was a great way to finish my career.”

Klosowiak finished third on the parallel bars with a 9.30. He also finished tied for fifth on the floor at 9.50, a seventh on the high bar at 8.90 and 10th on the vault with an 8.70.

Klosowiak also helped the Titans place eighth at the team finals on Friday with a season-best 145.70. Lincoln-Way co-op won the title with a 163.00.

“There was no pressure on us,” said Glenbrook South coach Steve Gale, whose team was making its first appearance at State since 2008 when it tied for fifth.

“The boys did a great job. It was a win-win experience for us and they performed well out there.”

Along with Klosowiak, who was 10th in the state in the all-around with a 52.00, the Titans got a strong performance from Kevin Hamilton, who tied for 21st in the all-around with a 49.25. Hamilton, who is a junior, also finished fourth in the state in the pommel horse with a 9.15. He was also 19th on the floor.

Austin Zimmer finished 36th on the floor.

 

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Klosowiak steers Glenbrook South back to State Meet

May 12, 2011 By

(Glenview Announcements) When he was a freshman, Glenbrook South’s Adam Klosowiak was part of a Titam team that advanced to the state finals.

On Saturday, Klosowiak was the key ingredient at the Mundelein Sectional, as the Titans stamped a return ticket.

“It was great to be part of that team three years ago,” Klosowiak said. “I was a freshman then. Now it is was my turn to lead.”

Klosowiak, who is headed to Princeton in the fall, did just that. He was second in all-around with a 52.25 and qualified in all six events including the high bar where he was sectional champion with a 9.00.

“Adam is a smart kid and a great leader,” said Glenbrook South coach Steve Gale. “We have been good all season long and it to get to the finals is a great accomplishment.”

The Titans Kevin Hamilton also qualified for the individual finals in the all-around. He also made it on all six events.

Also qualifying for State was Austin Zimmer on the floor. Brandon Kutsch and Tom Burke also had strong sectional performances for the Titans.

 

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Titans Stand Out At All Levels

May 2, 2011 By

(Journal Online) This has been another outstanding boys gymnastics season at Glenbrook South, and it isn’t over yet.

Gathering huge momentum for the upcoming state tournament, the Titan varsity soared to a share of the Central Suburban League championship last weekend.

That isn’t all. The Titan JV team won its underclass conference title outright, and freshman standout Riley Theriault won the all-around conference frosh title and the frosh group had an outstanding meet.

All of the gymnastics stars aligned for the GBS boys last weekend.

“What a great season for all of our teams,” enthused head coach Steve Gale. “The varsity team came into the conference final in outright first place, with Highland Park/Deerfield in second. Highland Park/Deerfield won the meet by three points over us. This resulted in a tie for first in the final standings based on the dual meet season and conference meet finish.

“The JV team led by Coach Brandon Tucker, went undefeated in dual meet conference competition and won the conference finals. Coach Al Hirsch’s freshman team, led by conference all-around champion Riley Theriault, had an outstanding final meet.

“A big thank you goes out to coaches Bridget Erickson and Eric Campbell, who have volunteered their time all season to work with the boys teams. They worked with team members at all three levels and have made significant contributions to the success of the program.”

In the varsity meet last weekend at Evanston, the Titians scored 144.70 points, behind only Highland Park/Deerfield’s 147.60. Niles West was 5th among seven teams with 125.75 points, and the first-year Maine Coop team was 6th with 88.30 points.

“We’ve been to the state final eight several times before,” said Gale. ‘This is one of the better teams in our history. We feel we have a good shot at getting to state again.”

The Titan varsity won the pommel horse competition in the seven-team meet, placed 2nd on floor exercise, still rings, parallel bars, and high bar, and 3rd on vault.

Leading the way for the Titans was Adam Klosowiak, with a lot of help from Kevin Hamilton, Austin Zimmer, Ryan Sachs, Cameron Sunkel, Brandon Kutsch, and Tom Burke.

Klosowiak won the high bar competition with a 9.00 score. He was runner-up on still rings (8.10), 3rd on pommel horse (7.80), 3rd on floor (9.30), 4th on parallel bars (8.60), and 6th on vault (8.60).

He finished 2nd in the all-around scoring with a six-event score of 51.40, less than a point behind Robbie Brown of Highland Park/Deerfield.

Hamilton was 5th on high bar, 6th on rings, 2nd on pommel horse with an 8.00, 6th on floor, 15th on parallel bars, and 5th on vault. He finished 5th in all-around with a score of 47.30.

Zimmer also broke into the top 10 in pommel horse, parallel bars, and floor, and wound up in 7th place among 15 gymnasts in the all-around with a score of 45.00.

Emilio Isasi and Trace Powers led the JV team to 103.60 points and the CSL conference title. Powers won the pommel horse event with a 5.70 score, and Isasi achieved three top-five finishes and nearly won the all-around with a runner-up score of 32.80, .05 of a point below winner Elijah Bond of Niles West.

Theriault painted a nice picture of Glenbrook South’s future in this sport by leading the Titan freshmen to 4th place in the conference. He launched his career at GBS in amazing fashion, winning the freshmen all-around competition over nine other gymnasts with a score of 37.85. He won the rings and high bar events, was runner-up on floor, took 3rd place in vault, 4th on pommel horse, and 5th on parallel bars.

“He’s had a very successful year, and we’re taking him with us to state, so he can get that experience,” Gale said. “He’ll be on the varsity next year.”

In fact, the Titan program overall is in excellent shape. Among the top three varsity scorers, Klosowiak is the only senior. Hamilton and Zimmer are junior and sophomore, respectively. “With Theriault on hand, and a JV group coming up after a big season, next season should be a good one also,” Gale said.

The Titans next competition is the Mundelein IHSA sectional at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 7. Their competition will be daunting – top-ranked Stevenson, Highland Park/Deerfield (again) and the host Mustangs all have outstanding teams.

The sectional team champion advances to the state finals as a ranked qualifier. The top three-scoring teams in all other sectionals advance as at-large qualifiers.

The top five individuals in each event also advance to individual competition at state.

The state finals will be held May 13-14 at Lincoln Way East High School in south-suburban Frankfort.

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Hamilton leads GBS to season-opening win

March 7, 2011 By

(CSLInsider.com) The Glenbrook South boys gymnastics team won its season opener, topping Prospect 128.2-111.2 Thursday in Glenview.

The Titans’ Kevin Hamilton won the all-around competition (49.1) after winning floor exercise (9.3), pommel horse (8.6), still rings (7.7) vault (8.9) and high bar (7.6) and finishing in second on parallel bars (7.0).

Austin Zimmer finished second in the all-around (41.5) for GBS, winning bars (7.8), finishing second on floor (8.6), pommel horse (6.8) and high bar (5.0), fifth on rings (5.3) and sixth on vault (8.0).

The Titans’ Ryan Sachs took third in the all-around (32.4) with his best finishes being fifths on bars (5.2) and high bars (4.4).

Tom Burke took second on rings (7.2), fourth on floor (8.4) and tied with Sachs for seventh on vault (7.9).
Brandon Kutsch finished third on floor (8.5) and high bar (4.7), fifth on vault (8.2) and sixth on bars (4.7).
Richie Narziev took seventh on high bar (4.0) and eighth on rings (4.7), while Cameron Sunkel finished eighth on horse (3.1).

As a team, the Titans won five out of six events, including floor (26.4), horse (19.2), rings (20.2), bars (20) and high bar (17.3). Prospect earned its only win on vault (25.9).

 

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Glenbrook South gymnasts boast 1-2 punch

March 1, 2011 By

(Pioneer Press) Glenbrook South fell just 12 points shy of a berth in the state finals last year.

In 2011, the Titans will be trying to erase that gap. Head coach Stephen Gale isn’t a fortune teller, but he is looking toward star senior Adam Klosowiak to lead the way.

“I am optimistic about this season and how we are going to be performing,” Gale said. “It is still really too early to get too specific, but I look for our senior leader to continue to lead the team this season with top-notch performances.”

Klosowiak qualified automatically for State last year with his sectional scores in pommel horse, still rings, parallel bars and high bar.

“Adam has been an important part of the boys gymnastics program since his freshman year,” Gale said. “When we meet other teams, the first thing they ask is how is Adam doing. Adam has positioned himself to represent the program.

“Not only does he need to continue to improve his own performances, but he needs to provide the leadership in the gym and move his fellow team members to that same level of performance.”

Junior Kevin Hamilton was the only other Titans gymnast to advance Downstate and will form the other half of the Titans’ 1-2 punch.

“Kevin has worked hard in the offseason and has come into the gym in shape and ready to compete,” said Gale. “Our competitors need to be concerned about our very serious presence on each piece of equipment, with Kevin not only competing right on the heels of Adam, but also leading the team on perhaps the toughest event, the pommel horse.”

The varsity squad also will include seniors Ryan Sachs, Cameron Sunkel, Tom Burke and Brandon Kutsch and sophomore Austin Zimmer. Gale is enthused about his team’s depth and hoping for success at every level.

“The really good news for us is that varsity-caliber performers may find themselves contributing to the program’s success at the JV level in some meets due to the competitive nature of our lineup,” Gale said. “This will make for an all-around better program. Our varsity team members will contribute to the success of the gymnastics team wherever they are called upon to compete.”

The Titans open up their campaign at 6 p.m. Thursday when they host Prospect.

“As with any team, we need a gym full of athletes to complement the talents of our front runner if we are going to make a statement in the CSL or in the state,” Gale said. “We look to be competitive in our conference, being able to put on the floor a team with depth that should match up well with most of the teams we meet.”

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