Gymnastics: Vernon Hills’ Tran turns some more heads with stellar showing at regional

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Vernon Hills' Alli Tran works her way to a 9.525 score on the floor exercise at the Deerfield Regional last week. | Joel Lerner~Sun-Times Media

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Updated: April 10, 2012 11:54AM

In between events at last week’s Deerfield girls gymnastics regional, Vernon Hills High School junior Alli Tran put on a pair of neon-yellow socks.

They weren’t just bright.

They also could have made life bearable, for a small village, during a lengthy blackout.

“My lucky socks,” said Tran, adding she also owns neon-pink, neon-orange, neon-green and neon-blue socks.

“I also wear these for finals at school and college-entrance exams.”

But luck had nothing to do with her performances at the regional on Feb. 2.

Tran’s eye-melting footwear touched a podium five times. The talented, head-turning competitor finished third on vault (9.65) and fourth in the all-around (38.025) and three events: bars (9.45), beam (9.4) and floor (9.525).

The Cougar garnered five sectional berths, or the maximum.

Her beam mark made her, well, beam more than any other mark did. Tran had scored an 8.45 in the event at the NSC Meet in Gurnee the previous weekend.

“Happy … I’m so happy,” said Tran, also a decorated trackster, who anchored last spring’s third-place 1600-meter relay at the 2A state meet.

“Tonight I focused hard on sticking my beam.”

Cougars coach Alison Gildemeister’s focus was to shed her nervousness before the meet.

Alas, it stuck around.

“I’ve been nervous since yesterday (Feb. 1), because I care so much about our team and want all of them to do well,” she said.

VH placed third (129.275) at the five-team regional, bettering its NCS Meet score by 4.45 points.

Tran will have some familiar company at this week’s Niles North Sectional Meet: VH junior Sarah Lopez.

Lopez hit the mats last week with a severely injured wrist. But she managed to extend her season with a pair of at-large qualifying efforts: all-around (33.85) and vault (9.275).

“One tough kid,” Gildemeister said.

Added Tran: “I’m so proud of her.”

Julia Gartsman, Izzy Patt and Katie Lea also competed for VH. Patt battled as an all-arounder, and Gartsman placed 10th on vault (8.425) and floor (8.45).

Quote-worthy: “Carmel has too much firepower.” — VH assistant Jesse Piland, in the middle of last week’s Deerfield Regional.

Carmel Catholic’s Corsairs, the two-time reigning state champs, easily topped the field with a 153.225-point total.

Runner-up Deerfield scored 134.275 points.

Track genes: Tran’s father, Jayson, long-jumped for his high school track team in Wisconsin.

He lights lamps these days, as a player in a men’s hockey league.

On the schedule: Tran and Lopez vie for state berths at the Niles North Sectional Feb. 9, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Flashback: Tran finished 10th in the all-around (37.225) and runner-up on bars (9.65) at last year’s Stevenson Sectional.