After a strong start to the season, the Glenbrook South gymnastics team is currently ranked 6th in state, behind Carmel, New Trier, Prairie Ridge, DeKalb and Geneva. The team has battled injuries throughout the season, according to junior Bebe Haramaras, but they are hoping to have a powerful end to the season.

“We’re really working through [injuries] right now, so right now we’re not doing as well as we want to,” Haramaras said. “But hopefully by the state series and the end of our season, we’ll be able to be healthy and competing just as strong as we were in the beginning of the season.”

Gymnastics meets consist of four events: balance beam, bars, vault and floor. According to senior Hannah Hartley, the team excels in the vault, and a weakness for the team are the bars.

“Vault is by far our best event,” Hartley said. “If we all are flipping our vaults and standing them up, then we get really good scores, and it’s what we score best on. Our weakest event is probably bars, because not all of us have a release move.”

Head Coach Steve Gale has made sure to keep the girls healthy and strong throughout the season, according to Haramaras. He is motivated to get things done, but puts injuries first, ensuring that the team is at their best, according to Hartley.

“[Coach Gale] is very careful about our injuries,” Hartley said. “If we’re hurting on something, he wants us to take it easy so that we can focus on the bigger picture, which is the end of the season, and stay healthy for the state series.”

This season, there are two girls from each class on varsity, creating a new atmosphere, according to Hartley. The team is very motivated to win and encourages each other throughout practices and meets, according to Haramaras.

“When one of our gymnasts gets up on an event, our whole team is behind them, cheering for them, motivating them, and I think that when one of us wins, we all win,” Haramaras said.

Some influential members of the team include Haramaras, Hartley, Kylie Kruger, Hartley’s sister, Jenna Hartley, and Emily Wyngarden. The two freshman, Jenna and Wyngarden, are a good influence on the team, according to Haramaras, because they are working very hard and living up to their spots on varsity.

“I look up to them,” Haramaras said. “No matter what age they are, they’re able to work hard and really fight for their position.”

This season, the team had a record of 4-2, beating Deerfield, Niles West, Niles North and Evanston. The losses were against New Trier and Maine South, but they went on to beat New Trier at the Spartan Classic held at Glenbrook North on Dec. 9. The team also won the Palatine Invitational in which they beat Palatine, York, Libertyville, Naperville North, Prospect and Hinsdale South.

“Something that’s good about our team is that we want to win, but we’re not going to put others down because we want to win,” Haramaras said. “We’re a team where having fun is the biggest priority rather than winning.”

For most of the girls, New Trier is seen as their rival, according to Jenna. At meets and invites, the wins seem to alternate between South and New Trier, according to Hannah, but the team is motivated to beat them in the state series.

“We go back and forth a lot with them, and we have very similar talents to [New Trier’s] team, so it’s always really close,” Hannah said.

The team had a successful regional meet on Jan. 30, winning the meet with a school record score of 146.40 points. Hannah Hartley led the team by winning all four events and the all around, according to Haramaras.

“Winning regionals will help us going into sectionals because we know how good our scores can be and we know we can do even better,” Jenna said. “We can all go out with confidence knowing that whatever we do, we will be proud of each other no matter what.”