This is the time of year when OPRF senior Maisie Hoerster once again trades a stick for grips and chalk. The three-sport athlete is a returning sectional qualifier for the Huskies’ multi-talented and experienced girls gymnastics team.
During the fall, Hoerster plays for the Huskies’ girls field hockey team.
“I’m in and out of season all the time,” Hoerster said. “It’s a very quick turnaround from playoffs for field hockey and then gymnastics, but once I get a week or two into it, I feel back to normal.”
The Huskies return their entire varsity after graduating their one senior from junior varsity. Seniors Claire Garnett, Alexis Henderson and Teagan Lucas, juniors Zoe Schwartz and Claudia Doyle, and sophomore Reese Hardy also are back.
In their first full-lineup meet Saturday, the Huskies (129.10 points) were seventh at Hinsdale Central’s Kim Estoque Invitational.
As high school construction continues, the gymnasts practice at Tri-Star Gymnastics in Forest Park, where OPRF coach Kris Wright also is one of the club coaches.
“They’re a great group of girls, very coachable, and the older girls are such great role models, really good mentors,” Wright said.
“So many of the girls do other sports. They’re really good athletes and they haven’t worked out for the whole year; now they’re coming back and they’re just picking up pre-season. They’re enjoying sports and being gymnasts, being on a team.”
Schwartz, who missed Saturday’s invite, joined Hoerster as individual qualifiers for the 2025 Hinsdale Central Sectional. Hoerster advanced in all-around, vault and floor exercise and Schwartz in all-around and the uneven parallel bars.
Hoerster competed at 2023 regionals but missed her entire sophomore season with a partially torn posterior cruciate knee ligament. Henderson competed at 2024 regionals but is coming off a season-ending injury in mid-season that also kept the all-state high jumper from competing in track. Adding to the Huskies’ strength is all-arounder Ava Kuenster, who is among nine freshmen and the youngest child of longtime assistant coach Wendy Kuenster.
“We have very solid routines on every single event. Everybody is confident with competing and Ava has also competed her whole life,” Hoerster said.
Kuenster tied for seventh on floor (9.1) Saturday to earn a top-10 medal and competed all-around (33.05) along with Hoerster (31.95) and Hardy (31.90). Hoerster (8.5 on vault and 7.95 on beam) and Hardy (8.2 on uneven bars) had the team’s other top event scores.
Kuenster was second on floor (9.05) at the season-opening Rolling Meadows Invite Dec. 6, where eight gymnasts per team compete in one event. Senior Taylor Mathias-Edwards joined the lineup on vault.
“It’s going to take time,” Wright said. “Nobody stuck beam [Saturday] but we have been sticking routines in practice. We’re getting used to the competing part of it. I know it will come with practice.”
The Huskies hope to reach the six-team sectionals for the first time since 2023.
For Hoerster, it’s then on to girls lacrosse, a spring sport she joined for the first time last season after two seasons of track.
“I was happy to try something out of my comfort zone. It ended up being a blast. I’m really excited for this spring,” she said.
“For me and all of the other [gymnast] seniors I think a lot of it is about having fun. It’s our last year, for a lot of us our last time doing gymnastics ever. We kind of just want to have fun with it and do our best.”