Sports
Hail the Champs: Lincoln-Way Gymnasts Show off Hardware
The Lincoln-Way co-op boys gymnastics team was cheered during a parade and ceremony on Sunday afternoon that started in Manhattan and ended with a trophy presentation at Lincoln-Way East.
There was a moment on Sunday when Skip Adamson had a bit of difficulty remembering Jake Gratkowski’s name.
Adamson, the Lincoln-Way co-op boys gymnastics coach, was discussing the nine gymnasts who contributed to Friday’s IHSA state championship, the first for the school since 2006, and blamed his forgetfulness on a four-day sleepless bender.
Sleep can come later.
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Adamson was at Lincoln-Way East on Sunday for a trophy presentation ceremony. He also got a little bit of a roast.
Lincoln-Way East athletic director Dave Brost made light of Adamson’s modesty and called him a bus driver.
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“When you talk to Skip (Adamson) and you reporters know this, this is what he says, ‘All I do is drive the bus. The kids do all the work,’ ” Brost said. “If that’s true Skip, you’re one heck of a bus driver. You know all the short cuts. You’ve got the best routes.”
Lincoln-Way East principal Brenda Jensen alluded to her belief that Adamson can do more than drive the bus. She suggested he could repair it, too. Jensen recalled a meet where equipment broke but Adamson quickly repaired it. She called him a mechanic.
No one called Adamson an architect on Sunday, but he put together six athletes from Lincoln-Way East, two from Lincoln-Way Central and another from Lincoln-Way North and coached them to a state championship and four individual state titles, including Ajani Cargle's victory in the all-around competition on Friday.
But like Adamson has often said, “It’s the kids that did all the work,” and they wouldn’t have been participating in a parade and ceremony on Sunday if it wasn’t for their efforts on Friday and Saturday.
The 2011 IHSA boys state gymnastics champions include seniors Jake Gratkowski, Evan Hosman, Ryan Reif and Tyler Yost, juniors Zack Beecher, Ajani Cargle, Brandon Oboikovitz and Victor Valencia and sophomore Brent Schneider.
