Buffalo Grove’s Strack has ‘exceeded my expectations’
By bob gosman Contributor January 17, 2012 2:16PM
Buffalo Grove's Katie Strack, seen here during earlier action this winter, helped her team to a third-place finish at the Prospect Invitational on Saturday. | Dan Luedert~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: February 20, 2012 8:17AM
Buffalo Grove gymnast Katie Strack had fun while competing in the Prospect Invitational on Saturday.
Strack is savoring her senior season after missing all of the 2010-11 campaign to rehab a torn posterior cruciate ligament in her knee. Now she’s back to her old self, having a blast leading the Bison.
“It’s been great to see the success that she’s had,” Buffalo Grove coach Stephanie Schrader said with a smile.
Strack only grimaced when asked to describe what it was like to hobble into her first-period physics class last year, and inform her teacher — Schrader, by the way — that she would be out for the season with a knee injury. Strack hurt her knee in a club gymnastics practice.
“I remember that she gasped,” Strack said. “I didn’t know what she was going to say.”
Schrader’s first two were words? “Oh, no.”
“It was real emotional,” Schrader said.
Schrader said that Strack didn’t feel sorry for herself, and that she absolutely attacked her rehabilitation.
“She was determined to come back,” Schrader said. “I don’t think the thought of this being a career-ending injury even occurred to her.”
Strack came to most practices and cheered on the Bison in meets. By the end of the summer, her injury was completely rehabilitated.
“I feel as good as new,” she said.
“I’ve never had a gymnast that was that ready to go,” Schrader added. “She exceeded my expectations.”
Strack finished third on beam (9.3) at the Prospect Invitational.
“I did the same tricks in the previous meet, but I couldn’t always stick them,” she said. “It was really nice to stick them this time. It gives me a lot of confidence.”
Charging Bison: Buffalo Grove’s score of 129.5 was good for third place, and was the highest total of the season by two points. Prospect (143.55) placed first and Schaumburg (138.56) was second.
“We had some people adding new things to some routines, and it just came together,” Schrader said.
Junior Jordan Mann raised the level of difficulty on her vault and was rewarded with a score of 9.4. She also had personal-best 8.7 on beam.
“That was great to see,” Schrader said. “She put it all together. She showed a lot of heart and is a strong competitor.”
Freshman Erika Ray continues to make the most of her opportunities to compete in all-around at the varsity level.
“We intended for her to be on the freshman team, but she’s really growing her skills,” Schrader said. “She’s one of our hardest workers.”
Reilly returns: The Bison are excited to have Margie Reilly return to the lineup. She had been under the weather for the last couple of weeks.
“Beam is her specialty, and she competes in three events for us,” Schrader said. “It will be nice to have her back.”
Reilly and the Bison, 4-1 in the MSL East, now turn their focus to the conference meet, to be held at Prospect on Jan. 27.
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