Vernon Hills’ Tran is a hit on bars at Lake County Invite

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Vernon Hills' Alli Tran performs her floor exercise routine at the Lake County Meet on Saturday at Lake Forest High School. | Joel Lerner~Sun-Times Media

Updated: March 19, 2012 2:00AM

Vernon Hills High School junior Alli Tran doesn’t even have to think for one second about what gymnastics event she likes best.

“Bars is just fun; it’s my favorite,” she said. “I love swinging and flying through the air.”

Tran finished in a tie for second on bars (9.5) with Libertyville’s Mariah Lee at the Lake County Invitational, held at Lake Forest High School on Saturday. She placed sixth in all-around (36.650), while Carmel’s Lauren Feely (38.7) was first.

“(Tran’s) bars routine is beautiful,” said Vernon Hills coach Alison Gildemeister. “She’s almost always hits it. It’s fun to watch.”

Tran scored 9.5 on vault, 9.1 on floor exercise and 8.55 on beam.

“It’s good to know that I can have a good all-around score and still have room to improve,” Tran said.

Added Gildemeister: “If she would have hit everything, she could have finished third in the all-around. When you are competing against Carmel, Lake Forest and Stevenson, that’s really impressive.”

Gildemeister believes the best is yet to come for Tran this season.

“It will be great when she turns it on and hits all four events at once,” she said. “I’m excited for her.”

Stepping up: With Vernon Hill gymnast Sarah Lopez away on a family trip, the Cougars scored 120.7 points, about 13 points lower than their typical score.

Of course, that was far from the whole story. Gildemeister loved the way several gymnasts stepped up in Lopez’ absence.

“I couldn’t have asked for anything more,” she said. “All the girls stepped to the plate.”

Junior Julia Gartsman scored 8.1 on floor.

“She’s a beautiful dancer; her lines are beautiful and she added a layout and a new tumbling pass,” Gildemeister said. “She did really well on the floor. She’s added skills in (her events), and it’s making a difference for her.”

Sophomore Izzy Patt fell on beam and still scored 7.6.

“Without the fall, she would have been in the 8.1 range, which is awesome,” Gildemeister said. “She’s adding skills everywhere.”

Patt is an analytical gymnast, which both helps and hurts her.

“Sometimes she thinks too much and then gets cautious,” Gildemeister said. “She’s on the cusp.”

Junior Amber Egan is working a on a new floor routine that should yield higher scores. She posted a score of 7.8 on vault.

Muppets take over: Each year, the Lake County Invitational features a particular theme. This year, it was “The Muppets.” Lake Forest coach Robin Straus and her gymnasts covered the gymnasium in Muppets memorabilia.

“It was cute,” Gildemeister said. “Robin went all out. The gym looked wonderful and it gets the kids excited.”

On the schedule: The Cougars visit Barrington on Friday, and Lopez will be back in the lineup. That should provide a big lift for the Cougars.

“She makes a huge difference to our team,” Gildemeister said.