Sometimes the payoff isn’t worth the trip to get there.

Judging by the faces of the Chesterton Gymnastics team Wednesday night, the trip to a 111.05-103.35 victory over Portage was worth it.

“It’s very exciting to get a 111,” Chesterton coach Kathy Wilburn said. “I’ve told the girls all year that they are not a 105-108 team, they’re a 110-112 team. It’s nice that they came out and showed that tonight.

“We still aren’t at full strength, so that should give them a lot of confidence. They had an incredible meet.”

The Trojans got off to a hot start on their way to a season-best score with solid vaults. Senior Brianne Hendrix won the event with a 9.325, followed by Emily Kozak (9.30) and Alex O’Brien (9.275).

“We got off to a nice start with good, consistent vaults,” Wilburn said. “Then we went to bars and Brianne and Kelley’s (Freeman) routines were just gorgeous. They really kept the momentum going.”

Freeman won the bars event with a 9.625, while Hendrix scored a 9.55 for second.

“Part of the way the team pulled together tonight was a reflection of (seniors) Brianne and Kelley,” Wilburn said. “The kids look up to them and they are an inspiration to them. The team knows how hard they work and how much they’ve put into it.”

Chesterton’s nemesis all season has been the beam, but on Wednesday. Emily Kozak won the event with a 9.30.

“Ashley (Ballestero) stuck her routine to get us started on the beam and it just kept rolling from there with positive energy,” Wilburn said. “We’ve been struggling with that all season, so we’ve done some different things with our beam in practices. Now that we’ve made them, we’re going to continue to do them the rest of the year.

“It’s incredible to go 6-for-6 on the beam.”

The Trojans put the finishing touches on the victory with Freeman winning the floor event with a 9.60.

“We’ve been working so hard that it’s nice to see that hard work pay off for them,” Wilburn said.

Vault – 1. Brianne Hendrix (C), 9.325; 2. Emily Kozak (C), 9.30; 3. Alex O’Brien (C), 9.275; 4. Farley (P), 9.25; 5. Elizabeth Kozak (C), 9.25; 6. Lauren Weibl (C), 9.00.

Bars – 1. Kelley Freeman (C), 9.625; 2. Brianne Hendrix (C), 9.55; 3. Emily Kozak (C), 8.80; 4. Alex O’Brien (C), 8.45; 5. Farley (P), 8.40; 6. Barcelli (P), 8.20.

Beam – 1. Emily Kozak (C), 9.30; 2. Elizabeth Kozak (C), 9.05; 3. Barcelli (P), 8.925; 4. Brianne Hendrix (C), 8.75; 5. Samantha Wilburn (C), 8.45; 6. Johnson (P), 8.30.

Floor – 1. Kelley Freeman (C), 9.60; 2. Barcelli (P), 9.525; 3. Farley (P), 9.35; 4. Elizabeth Kozak (C), 9.25; 5. Brianne Hendrix (C), 9.175; 6. Emily Kozak (C), 9.05.

All-Around – 1. Brianne Hendrix (C), 36.80; 2. Emily Kozak (C), 36.45; 3. Elizabeth Kozak (C), 35.60; 4. Barcelli (P), 35.20; 5. Alex O’Brien (C), 34.175; 6. Bomba (P), 32.85.

Posted 2/18/2010