Tuesday, June 14, 2011
After helping Team Illinois win a national title, former Lake Forest gymnast recalls February’s State Meet as her shining moment.
Winning a national team championship last month was a highlight of gymnast Grace Kohlmaier’s career, but it takes a back seat to being part of Lake Forest High School’s second-place finish at the state meet in February. An integral part of the Scouts’ gymnastics success the last four years, Kohlmaier was one of 10 senior gymnasts in the state selected for Team Illinois by the Illinois High School Girls Gymnastics Coach’s Association (IHSGGCA) to compete for the national team championship. “I was really excited to have an opportunity for one more meet,” Kohlmaier said when she learned she was invited to join the team a month after the Scouts' most successful season ever. “I was excited to see what I could do at that level.” She placed …
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Second-place finish at State Meet rewrites school history book; Carlson, McKeon win individual medals.
A season-long search for near perfection ended with Lake Forest High School's girls' gymnastics team making history following a second-place finish at Saturday’s IHSA State Finals in Palatine. Making the school’s fourth ever trip to the State Meet as a team, the Scouts 148.45 point total outperformed the 1985 squad's third place standing for the best finale since the program began. The Scouts finished a point behind defending champion Carmel (149.45) and ahead of Schaumburg (147.8). Lake Forest also put fourth place Stevenson (146.95) in its rear view mirror after lagging behind the Patriots in both the Sectional and North Suburban Conference meets. “This was as close to a perfect meet as we could have,” Scouts coach Robin Straus said …
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Posting state’s third highest sectional score, Lake Forest hopes to climb higher this weekend.
Lake Forest High School’s girls' gymnasts are poised to achieve one of the goals they set when the season opened, and stand at the precipice of making history when the State Finals open at 5 p.m. Friday and continue at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in Palatine. The Scouts, who hope to finish among the top five teams, compiled the third highest team score (147.6) in the state’s sectional meets last week behind defending State champion Carmel (151.6) and North Suburban Conference rival Stevenson (148.925). Lurking behind Lake Forest are Schaumburg (147.4), Fremd (146.575) and Hinsdale Central (146.475). Eight teams are competing along with individual qualifiers in each event from numerous schools. In 1985, Lake Forest posted its highest finish ever …
Monday, February 7, 2011
Katz shines in girls' basketball loss to Libertyville.
GIRLS' GYMNASTICS Date: Feb. 7 The Final Score: 1. Carmel 151.6; 2. Stevenson 148.925; 3. Lake Forest 147.6; 4. Fremd 146.575; 5. Prairie Ridge 144.975; 6. Palatine 143.625. Scouts’ Star Performer: The entire team (Melanie Foster, Kat McKeon, Grace Kohlmaier, Brittany Moccia, Kylie Carlson and Katie Meier). No individual placed better than fourth in any individual event. Who’s Next: Lake Forest awaits the results of the other three sectionals to learn Thursday if it earns an at-large bid to the State finals on Feb. 18-19 in Palatine. The Bottom Line: “We are capable of big scores, but it’s consistent 9.2’s and 9.3’s,” said Lake Forest coach Robin Straus of how the Scouts’ depth propelled them into third place. GIRLS' BASKETBALL Date: …
Stevenson Sectional is loaded with 5 of the state's top 6 teams in one field.
Carmel and Stevenson are the only high school girls’ gymnastics teams in Illinois to score more than 150 points in competition this year. Guess which sectional they compete in tonight (Feb. 7)? The same one as Lake Forest. “This is the state meet,” said Lake Forest coach Robin Straus of the sectional meet at Stevenson in Lincolnshire. In addition, the sectional includes Prairie Grove (146.375), which took second to host Carmel in their regional Saturday, and Fremd (145.675), which won its regional. Lake Forest put 146.55 points on the board to easily outscore Barrington (139.45), Deerfield (134.675) and Highland Park (109.15) to win its regional rescheduled Saturday night from Wednesday due to the blizzard. “I would have liked to celebrate…
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Scouts begin State meet prep by hosting Regional Feb. 1 after placing 2nd in conference meet.
Knowing how to focus on the task at hand and motivate your teammates when they need it is as much a part of the Lake Forest High School gymnastics team’s success as the artistic performance on the uneven parallel bars, balance beam, vault and floor exercise. The Scouts’ second-place finish in Friday's North Suburban Conference meet at Vernon Hills was not their best outing of the season. Stevenson won the affair with 149.5 points followed by Lake Forest with 146.925 and Libertyville with 143.325. Still, they remain poised for a strong finish at the State meet next month. “We’re definitely one of the top five teams in the state and all top five finishers could come from here (Lake County),” said Lake Forest coach Robin Straus, referring to …
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Veteran coach Robin Straus positions her athletes for successful third-place finish at Lake County Invitational.
Crafting the lineup for a gymnastics meet requires all the skill used for baseball or football. Veteran Lake Forest High School gymnastics coach Robin Straus has spent more than 30 years crafting lineups to meet the competition, and Saturday's Lake County Invitational was no exception. In what turned into a three-team race, Lake Forest finished third behind Stevenson and Carmel with less than three points separating the three teams. Only three Scouts — Kylie Carlson, Brittany Moccia and Katherine McKeon —participated in all four events and rarely in the same order. The only constant was Carlson as the final Lake Forest competitor in every event. “Kylie is our pressure kid. She proved herself with a top 10 all-around performance at state …
James Straus
10:57 am on Monday, January 31, 2011
The regional is Wednesday night February 2nd, barring any tremendous out-pouring of snow. This just in, the beam has been increased to four inches. more ›