The Palatine High School Girls Gymnastics team finished out a successful season hosting the IHSA State Gymnastics Meet. The varsity team had a great record this season, going undefeated in the regular season and being crowned regional champions.

There are four events in girls gymnastics: bars, beam, floor, and vault. These events also combine for the all-around awards, which add together scores from all four events.
Junior Jolee Waddington was the champion in all of her events and the all-around at both the regional and sectional level meets, which granted her a spot to compete in the state meet.

Waddington took 2nd place on Bars, 5th place on Floor Exercise, and 6th place in the All-Around at State. Additionally, Waddington earned the IHSA State Sportsmanship Award.

This award is granted to teams for behavior that exemplify the ideals of respect and integrity on a statewide level.

Palatine High School has hosted the State Gymnastics meet for 46 years, ever since the third year the competition took place.

“It’s home court, they know the equipment, so they don’t have to spend extra time doing stuff to learn,” varsity head coach Terry Theobald said.

This meet is a massive event each year, giving students in District 211 a half day. 32 schools from across the state bring athletes who qualify at their Sectional Meets. In order for an athlete to qualify for the meet individually, they must place within the top five places of an event or the all-around at their sectional meet.

“We’re just getting ready for next year,” Theobold said. “We’ve already started.”