MSL Gymnastics: State Boys Success Has Deep Roots in MSL Area
Arlington, Hughes Built Title Foundation for Sport Recently Discontinued by IHSA
There was not much surprise to the disappointing announcement in mid-June 2023 that the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) was ending the boys gymnastics state series because of low participation. There had been rumblings for years since the number of schools participating in boys gymnastics had dropped below the 7 percent necessary to conduct a state series several years ago.
Schools could still compete in the sport but it would have to be similar to ice hockey or field hockey and run by an organization outside the IHSA. Dave Oberhelman of the Daily Herald just wrote an excellent story last week that looked at the future plans for post-IHSA boys gymnastics and included District 214 (six Mid-Suburban East schools) not planning to participate in a state series run by the Illinois High School Gymnastics Coaches Association (IHSGCA).
Ironically, it was 214’s Arlington, a school that has been closed for nearly 40 years, that helped vault boys gymnastics to IHSA status in 1958 and set the foundation for the sport’s growth and tremendous success in the Mid-Suburban League.
Here’s a look at some of the rich history of the MSL and boys gymnastics, including all the top-three team (trophy winning) finishers and individual state champions.
An Early Dynasty Was in the Cards
The timing of Gay Hughes’ arrival at Arlington and the beginning of boys high school gymnastics at its highest levels in Illinois could not have been much better.
Hughes went to Senn on Chicago’s North Side and was a standout gymnast at Illinois. He won the 1948 NCAA championship on the trampoline and was an All-American for the third time for the 1950 NCAA team champions. Hughes came to Arlington to teach and had a big booster in getting a gymnastics program started in the 1952-53 school year with principal and superintendent Leroy Knoepple.
Hughes, who passed away on Dec. 28, 2005 at 79, literally put the sport on display to the masses at Arlington football and basketball games.
“There was a great educational program going on here just teaching gymnastics,” Hughes told the Daily Herald’s Bruce Miles in a 1984 story just before Arlington closed about the school’s impact on boys gymnastics. “One day, Knoepple came up to me and said he wanted me to put on an exhibition at the first home football game. I told him I didn’t have anybody ready for that yet. He said, ‘No, no, I mean you. You are going to put on the exhibition yourself.’
“I was fresh out of college so I still had most of my tricks. I wrote up a script for the (public address) announcer because he didn’t know what I was doing. I did what he announced just to acquaint people with the trampoline and what it could do.”
Hughes clearly knew what he was doing and was regarded as the father of the sport in the Northwest suburbs. In 1954, Mike Werner was the trampoline champion in the third State Invitational Championship hosted by the University of Illinois. The IHSA, which took over the boys gymnastics state meet and series in 1958, recognized those early team and individual championships on its records page.
Arlington won its first state title in any sport in 1955 in Urbana after finishing second and third the previous two years. Junior John Koeppen was regarded as the “star of the meet” as he tied teammate Dick Neiland for the still rings title, took first on the high bar and won the vault with a championship effort legendary U of I coach Charlie Pond called “the best I’ve seen, high school or college, in the past five years.” Neiland took second in the vault and the Cardinals also got top-five finishes from Rob Maierhofer (2nd trampoline), Dick Kimbrough (2nd bars, 4th rings), Mark Flowers (3rd trampoline), Tom Pendleton (3rd horse), Fritz Snyder (4th horse) and Dave Peterson (5th trampoline).
They returned to the top spot in 1959 with a young team that rebounded from a pair of dual-meet losses and a second-place invitational finish as Tom Geocaris won the first of consecutive rings titles and Leyden transfer Arnold Harvey won the parallel bars. Geocaris held his iron cross on the rings for five seconds and Hughes called the move one of the most beautiful he had seen in 22 years in gymnastics.
Geocaris took second on the high bar and Gary Moreland (2nd tumbling, 3rd trampoline), Mike Nelson (2nd rings) and Dick Wetzel (2nd pommel horse) were instrumental in the title.
“I had the shakes for two days after I won the NCAA trampoline championship back in 1948 but never had a feeling like this,” Hughes told Paddock Publications’ Bob Buchanan. “When the officials posted that 110½ points on the scoreboard I heaved a sigh of relief. Our fans knew we had won, too. Their support was just wonderful. I had never expected such a following.”
One year later, four individual champions in Geocaris (rings), Gary Erwin (trampoline), Bill Sayre (tumbling) and Wetzel (horse) led to another team title. Harvey took third in the all-around and Bill Flood made a key contribution on the trampoline.
“The ‘60 team was probably the best team I ever had in my life,” Hughes told Miles. “I had four or five boys in each event and every one of them could score between 8.0 and 9.0.
“Basically, I had a bunch of talented kids who wanted to win. They listened to me and they believed in me. My real pride and joy were the kids I had in ‘59 and ‘60 because they sweated blood for me. What more can you ask from a bunch of kids? I can get nostalgic about them.”
Sayre and Wetzel came back in 1961 with individual titles and then Hughes left to start a program at the newly-opened Forest View. Tom Walthouse took over the Arlington program in 1962, coached still rings champion Reid Olson a year later and closed the decade with consecutive titles in 1968-69. The second repeat was similar to the first since the 1968 title was a bit of a surprise. Champions Gary Drake (tumbling) and Terry Haines (trampoline) and medalists Wayne Crockett (3rd all-around and rings), Jim Brousseau (3rd high bar), Doug Atkins (3rd horse) and Rich Carlson (4th rings) led the way past Maine East and all-around champion and future BG coach Dennis Mazur.
The ‘69 crown was no surprise as Arlington was ranked No. 1 all season, crushed New Trier East for the district title 147-57 and qualified two gymnasts to state in every event. Haines repeated as trampoline champion, Brousseau won the high bar and was fourth in the all-around and Steve Von Ebers won the first of consecutive free exercise crowns. Drake (3rd free exercise), George Cresswell (3rd high bar), Bob Gliechman (5th all-around) and Nick Isaacs (5th free exercise) fueled an impressive victory over a Hinsdale Central program that would win the next four state titles.
“The reason the ‘68 team stands out is because it was kind of a building year for us,” Walthouse told Miles in the ‘84 story. “We started to jell around the districts and that was nice. We went into the state meet not sure of what was going to happen. It was quite a team effort because all the kids in all the events made a contribution.
“Our strength was a strong chain. We didn’t always have the outstanding kid, but each boy contributed to a strong chain. They didn’t keep records, but we always said that our ‘69 team was the best in the nation at the time.”
Walthouse’s ‘72 team took second and Arlington would bring one more trophy to the building on Euclid Avenue before it closed with a third-place finish under Tom Chapman in 1981. The success of Arlington would spread to the rest of District 214 and the entire MSL.
“Every 214 school that opened had a good coach and that coach started with talent,” Hughes said. “And this is why, if you look at the records, the 214 schools have been up there pretty well.”
Tragedy Turns to Triumph at Hersey
Gary Morava put Hersey on the state and national map shortly after the school opened. Morava, who was at Wheeling his first two years, won the state all-around title in 1970 and the team finished second to burgeoning powerhouse Hinsdale Central. Hersey coach Don Von Ebers, an All-American trampoline teammate of Gay Hughes at Illinois, was building another MSL power.
Morava went to Southern Illinois and as a sophomore in 1972 he led the school to its third NCAA title by winning the vault and finishing second in the all-around. He was a six-time All-American and member of the US national team. But in March 1974, less than two weeks before the IHSA state meet, the 21-year-old Morava died two days after he broke two cervical vertebrae in his spine during a practice.
“I never saw Gary Morava without a smile. He’s the finest kid I’ve ever worked with in the 23 years I’ve been coaching because of the tremendous rapport we had together,” Hersey coach Don Von Ebers told the Herald’s Jim Cook, who would go on to become the paper’s sports editor. “I can’t think of anyone who didn’t know him and love him as an individual.
“They feel that their primary objective is to win the state. If and when they do it will be for Gary. If that means they’ll be competing under added pressure I’m not about to stop them.”
The task for Hersey, which finished second in 1970 and 1971 and third in 1973, was to topple four-time defending champion Hinsdale Central. Ending that run was truly a team effort as Bruce Freedman shared the horse title with Rolling Meadows’ Blaine Dahl and six other gymnasts medaled. Ron Mitsos was second and Keith Oehlsen was fifth on free exercise, Mike Murphy took third on parallel bars and the Huskies got fourth-place finishes from Don Zasadny (trampoline), John Ludwigeen (high bar) and John Maseng (horse) before a standing-room only crowd in Prospect’s fieldhouse.
“Hersey is proud to dedicate this beautiful trophy to Gary Morava,” Von Ebers told Cook. “It will be on display in our school a long, long time to commemorate a great individual. I explained that this would be their final routines in high school and that we didn’t need any special tricks to beat Hinsdale. The pressure was there but so was the inspiration for Gary Morava.”
Freedman and Dahl scored 9.2s on the horse.
“I guess it’s only fitting that we share the title,” Freedman told Cook. “We’ve been competing against each other for four years now and we’ve been close all along. We’re good friends and very happy for each other.”
Assistant coach Bob Esposito and Von Ebers exchanged roles 10 years later when Hersey was on the verge of another title. Esposito was going to retire after the 1984 meet because of nerve damage in his shoulder and he went out on top as the Huskies toppled another powerhouse in Addison Trail, which was in the midst of winning 7 titles in 10 years (1977-86).
“I’m the happiest man on the face of the earth,” Esposito told the Daily Herald’s Bruce Miles. “The kids really did come around. I couldn’t be prouder.”
Chris Waller became the second of three Hersey all-around champions with Morava and 2023 winner Nate Mabry.
“It’s the best meet I’ve ever had,” Waller said.
And the Hersey boys team would follow the girls as state champions in the same school year.
“All the hard work is worth it. I’m much more happy for the team than for myself,” Kurt Waller told Miles. “Last year we had a lot of injuries. This year we had some injuries but we came back and kept fighting right down the line. We kept it all together in the end and that’s what did it.”
Miraculous Comeback Leads to Back-to-Back for Conant
Becoming the fifth all-around champion from the MSL felt like a consolation prize for Marc Jones because it appeared Conant was headed for a third consecutive second-place finish after Friday’s first night of competition in 1987. Glenbard East held a 159.1-158.1 advantage and that 1 point would be the equivalent to around 20 in basketball or football.
“We lost the state meet. I’m so upset that we lost the state championship,” Jones told Daily Herald boys gymnastics writer Marty Stengle after his 9.05 all-around broke the record set a year earlier. “Sure, I’m happy about winning the all-around, but losing as a team overshadows it a lot.”
But head coach Ed Raymond used a scenario from his other favorite sport that had just occurred a month earlier.
“We need a chip shot from off the green like the one that beat Greg Norman at the Masters,” Raymond said of champion Larry Mize’s miraculous victory.
Raymond, in his 14th season as head coach, convinced his team it could become only the second one to come back and win after trailing in the prelims. Jones, his brother Eric, James Podzamsky and Jim Slavich combined for a stunning increase of 2.45 points in Saturday’s event finals and Conant won its first team title in any sport 160.55-159.55.
“Mr. Raymond said we still had a chance,” Marc Jones said. “He said we just had to go out and prove it.”
Marc Jones improved in 5 events by 1.1 points and shared titles on the parallel bars with his brother Eric at 9.25 and on the pommel horse at 9.55. Eric Jones improved his scores by 0.8 points. Podzamsky took fifth on the horse.
“I thought we had better than a 50-50 chance,” Raymond said. “Glenbard East had an outstanding meet on Friday and we didn’t. We just weren’t going to give up until the finals were over.
“I guess we had to do it the hard way. This is what I’ve dreamed about.”
The next year set up as a dream season with the Joneses and Slavich returning. The Cougars ranked among the top teams in the country with a school-record 164.6 early in the season and a 165 to win the MSL.
Oddly enough, the state meet Friday was another disappointment even as the team posted a state-record 161.5 in the prelims, Marc Jones broke his own all-around record with a 9.13 to becoming the first to repeat since Olympic legend Bart Conner at Niles West and Eric Jones took third.
“That was a terrible meet,” Marc Jones told Stengle.
“We had a terrible night,” Raymond said.
The Cougars repeated the formula from the previous year by adding 2 points from the prelims for a 163.15. Marc Jones hit a 9.7 on the parallel bars to break the mark of 9.55 by Conner. Slavich was third on the parallel bars and fourth on high bar and Troy Ristwo took fifth on floor.
The Joneses finished their prep careers with a big medal haul as Marc earned 10 and Eric claimed nine. And Raymond, who would win one more trophy with a third-place finish in 1992, summed it up by again combining his two favorite sports.
“This was a fantastic year, a once-in-a-lifetime year,” he told Stengle. “I’ve got a hole-in-one in golf - now maybe I’ll win the lottery. Seriously I’m glad we came back to respectability - to our level of greatness tonight.”
A Pair of Pirate ‘Ships’
Palatine came into the 2007 season with something to prove after rolling to the MSL title a year earlier but falling just short of the school’s first trip to the state meet as a team.
“I would say this is our best shot ever to make it to the state meet for the first time,” seventh-year coach Scott Hagel told the Daily Herald’s John Bumbales.
Hagel knew what it took to get there as he competed for Mundelein coach Doug Foerch, who won six state titles from 1989-2000. The Pirates were top-ranked in the state at one point, set a school record with 158.1 in their first meet and set another school mark with 159.1 to repeat as MSL champs by 9-plus points.
They won a sectional title even though standout junior all-arounder Matt Eckardt wasn’t at full strength because of illness. They went into the state meet ranked third behind York and Glenbard West and poised to end an unfathomable 15-year drought since the MSL’s last top-three trophy by Conant in 1992. The longest gap between MSL trophy-winners had been just three years.
“As far as challenging for a trophy we definitely have to capitalize this year,” Hagel told Bumbales in his state preview. “They’ve been focused as a group since last year and it’s great to see them all focused on a goal for an entire year.”
“This is the best team I’ve been on, we’re really close, and I think that has really helped us as a team,” Eckardt said.
A school-record 159.8 on Friday night propelled the Pirates to the title over York (158.8) and Glenbard West (157.95). Eckardt had a first-place tie on floor (9.75) and Kendale Coats had a 9.4. Andrew Arnold scored 8.95 on still rings.
“First place was not really even a thought in my mind but our guys kept believing in themselves the whole meet,” Hagel said of joining the 1994 soccer team with Palatine’s second boys state title. “I’m in shock. I never dreamed that this would happen this year.”
In Saturday’s event finals, Eckardt became the school’s first individual event champion with a 9.7 on floor and took fourth in the all-around.
“Matt really deserves it because he’s such a perfectionist,” Hagel said.
Palatine finished third in 2008 and again in 2021 and Dominic Filichia, John Pirone and Trey Wilcox looked to give Hagel a nice retirement gift in 2022. The Pirates won a second consecutive MSL West title but stumbled a bit to third in the MSL behind Prospect and Hoffman Estates despite Wilcox’s 55.95 breaking Eckardt’s all-around record.
They responded in the sectional with a school-record 163.4.
“It was unbelievable,” Hagel told the Daily Herald’s Dick Quagliano. “We had some alumni watching us. It was one of those nights that the guys were just feeding off each other. This is finally where they put it all together.”
It got even better at the state meet as Palatine gave Hagel a title trophy with a 164.85 to beat Lake Park by 6.4 points.
“We are all super-excited and so happy we could do this for Hagel and for ourselves,” Wilcox said.
“We left it all out there. To break the school record at the state meet, I never would have dreamed of that,” Hagel said. “These guys put it all together when they had to. It has been a dream that it would end like this.”
Pirone won floor (9.55) and rings (9.3) and tied Wilcox and Buffalo Grove’s Benjamin Valek for the horse title (9.45). Wilcox won the parallel bars (9.75) and Filichia was fourth on high bar.
“It is going to stick with me forever,” Pirone said. “It was so exciting all weekend long.”
Bits and Pieces
Arlington Heights was synonymous with boys gymnastics success with the team and individual accomplishments of Arlington and Hersey. Matt Schoen brought acclaim to St. Viator while competing for the school as an individual competitor. Schoen won consecutive all-around, still rings and high bar titles in 1994-95 and was a 10-time medalist in those two meets.
Palatine’s Prakash Nigam finished second in the all-around in 2017 but won nearly everything else. He won titles on floor, rings, vault and parallel bars and finished his high school career with 11 state medals.
Niles West’s Bart Conner became the first IHSA gymnast to repeat as all-around champion in 1974-75. Conner won two Olympic gold medals in 1984.
One-time MSL member Glenbard North won the team title in 1992 under head coach Chuck Ehrlich. Ehrlich is a member of the Northern Illinois University Athletics Hall of Fame as he coached five individual national champions and two Elite Eight teams during his 17 years in charge of the program.
Prospect won the Interim League title in the winter of 1963 before moving over to the MSL. Champions Gary VanderVoort (all-around, parallel bars) and Dan Price (high bar) led a third-place team finish.
Results are from ihsa.org and the Daily Herald archives.
Hi Marty...I'm enjoying your newsletter. Regarding Way Back Wednesday, here is a topic you might want to consider for the future. Forest View HS Girls Bowling Team State Champs.
Bowling (girls): 2nd place (1974–75, 1975–76); State Champions (1973–74, 1976–77, 1977–78). I had a neighbor in Palatine who was on one of the state championship teams.