Trevians overcome injuries and Glenbrook North in early-season dual

Metaphorically, a victory against league rival Glenbrook North has New Trier gymnastics on good footing.

Literally, however, the Trevians’ footing is anything but good.

Ankle injuries to several varsity gymnasts have hampered the start of the season for an experienced New Trier team that returns a majority of its lineup from a state-qualifying group a season ago.

“We’ve been struggling with injuries this whole month,” said Jennifer Pistorius, in her 35th season as the Trevians head coach. “If we didn’t have ankles, we’d be beyond amazing. I’ve never had anything like this. We’re lucky we are as talented as we are in our depth.”

The injuries have impacted the Trevians; first three meets, with gymnasts either out or limited; however, New Trier had enough to edge Glenbrook North — 137.8-137.4 — in an important Central Suburban South dual meet on Tuesday, Dec. 10, in Northfield.

The victory gives the Trevians an advantage in the race for the league title.

Trevians senior Clara Crossgrove nabbed the all-around title with 35.8 points, anchored by wins in the beam (8.55) and vault (9.45, tied with teammate Taylor Kim). Crossgrove also tied for second (8.85 with teammate Sammy Mills) in the uneven bars, an event in which she placed third in state last season.

Kim added a third-place finish on floor and fifth on beam, while Mills, who only competed in two events, was fourth on beam. Junior Anna Virgili chipped in a third-place result (8.8) on bars, and senior Isabella Dawson was third (8.25) on beam.

Mills and Virgili are two of six Trevians — four in the varsity rotation — who are recovering from ankle ailments. Sophomore Zoey Junker is just getting back on the mats after breaking her ankle in the offseason, and junior Elena Scarano has sprained both of her ankles this season.

Pistorius is hoping the Trevians are experiencing a season’s worth of bad luck early.

“After a while it was like every other day we were calling the trainer to come in,” she said. “So it’s got to stop. I’m just hoping we get everything out and done in the beginning of the season. I’ve always told the kids you don’t want to peak in December, you want to peak in January and February.”

New Trier is working out more than just injuries in the early going.

Crossgrove, a four-year varsity competitor, tried a slew of new skills in Tuesday’s meet, and though her routines are still in development — she fell on both bars and beam — she said it was important to put them into action during competition.

“Over the summer I got all the new skills and what better time to compete them than your senior year, the last time you are able to,” she said. “I just wanted to go all out and see how it goes.

Crossgrove added, “The goal was to just warm (the skills) up and compete them in the meet, so I’m not too upset (by the falls).”

The senior trio of Crossgrove, Kim and Mills will anchor a New Trier squad looking to return to the state finals for the second consecutive season. The Trevians qualified as a team for state four straight seasons between 2017-2020, before missing out the next three.

After returning to the state meet last season, they are hungry for more this time around. Pistorius said with the senior group, including Dawson, and improving underclassmen, such as Virgili and Junker, the team “absolutely” has the makeup to be a state placer — once they are healthy.

“Slowly the confidence is coming, and the results will happen,” she said, adding, “We want to go back (to state) and we’d like to come home with some hardware.

“I know they want it and I see the potential that they can do it. They just have to believe they can do it.”

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