Energetic from the moment she was born, Becky Mladucky got her first taste of the sport of gymnastics when she was enrolled in tumbling classes as a 2-year-old.
That kind of experience can breed a unique brand of confidence.
“One thing the other girls look up to is her fearlessness as an athlete,” Glenbard West coach Carlos Fuentes said of Mladucky. “She will attack bigger skills that other girls are more leery of. She wants to be more successful than she is afraid. She puts team and overall goals ahead of her fear.”
Many years and countless hours after taking those first steps in the sport, the Glenbard West junior shows no signs of leaving the gym anytime soon.
“I think gymnastics has made me a very well-rounded person and it has taught me discipline,” said Mladucky, who was quick to credit her parents for all of their support. “I’ve put a lot of time in it and it can be like a job sometimes; it is a hard sport but a lot of fun at the same time. Your team becomes like a family to you. It has been a fun experience.
“I’ve had some iffy times where I thought about doing another sport. But I’ve put so much time and effort in, it wouldn’t be the same if I didn’t do it anymore.”
No season has been more enjoyable for Mladucky than this winter, which saw the Hilltoppers advance to state for the second time in program history and claim fifth-place honors. Individually, she was the state runner-up on bars with a 9.525 and 10th on floor with an 8.925.
She accomplished all of that despite battling a problem with her knee that hampered her in the early going of the season.
“It was a great experience,” said the junior, who has also dealt with a broken ankle and broken elbow in her high school career. “I’m really glad I’m still (competing) at West and got to be a part of it. I know our team will develop and improve on things every year. And next year hopefully we will get even better. Every year we’ve broken a school record of some sort and it is a great team to be a part of.
“Individually, I was happy with my season, then again I wasn’t. I didn’t get to do all of the tricks that I wanted. But I will definitely take this year and work out more and try to become what I wanted to before this season.
“Bars I have worked on a lot over the years. To have a solid bars routine, it finally paid off.”
After a short time off to rest and get fully healthy, the gym rat is now back to practicing three and a half hours, three days a week with a clear goal in mind.
“It is definitely a serious sport,” Mladucky said. “You have to put in a lot of time and effort. But the offseason is more fun, you get to learn new tricks.
“I want to get in a lot of tricks and be at state (next year) in every event and be in the top five for the state finals.”
Mladucky has drawn interest from colleges and went to Michigan State recently to meet their coaches but is undecided as to whether she will continue her career at the next level.
Fuentes is just happy she has one more year to make that decision.
“As a leader, she is not as vocal as (senior) Sarah Udelhofen,” said Glenbard West coach Carlos Fuentes. “She leads by example in the gym. She is one of those athletes that will take turn after turn after turn. You will look around and be like, ‘How is it her turn again?’
“We were waiting all season to get her back in the lineup. We were a good team before she came back but she turned us into a great team.”
Meet the 2009-10 Winter Girls All-Area Team:
Cayla Herbst
SCHOOL Glenbard West
SPORT Basketball
YEAR Junior
ACHIEVEMENTS This post player continued her development at a rapid pace and should be a force in the paint for the Hilltoppers next winter. Herbst was second on the Hilltoppers with a 10.3 points per game average while shooting nearly 55 percent from the floor. The junior led Glenbard West with 213 total rebounds (7.1 per contest), including 79 on the offensive end. She also totaled 94 blocked shots in 30 games along with 37 assists and 31 steals.
Patrice Hicks
SCHOOL Glenbard South
SPORT Basketball
YEAR Sophomore
ACHIEVEMENTS Expected to play a big role for the Raiders this winter, Hicks did just that to the tune of 12.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest, ranking second on the team in both categories. The sophomore shot nearly 49 percent from the floor for the Raiders and led the squad with 62 steals. An all-conference pick in the last year of the Western Sun, she also had 22 blocks on the year.
Nevena Markovic
SCHOOL Glenbard South
SPORT Basketball
YEAR Junior
ACHIEVEMENTS This 6-foot-4 center and solid all-around player had a great season and helped the Raiders to a 17-win campaign. The junior topped Glenbard South with 13.4 points and 7.6 rebound per game. The Western Sun all-conference pick also led the squad with 56 assists and 51 blocks and should only be more of a headache for opponents next winter.
Fiona McMahon
SCHOOL St. Francis
SPORT Basketball
YEAR Junior
ACHIEVEMENTS The 6-foot center made a huge impact around the basket and turned in some of her best performances against top competition. McMahon poured in 28 points in a December game against eventual sectional finalist Immaculate Conception, and her 16 points in a win over DuPage Valley Conference champion Wheaton North included the winning basket in the final seconds. She also had 13 points and 11 rebounds in a narrow loss to Wheaton Academy.
Becky Mladucky
SCHOOL Glenbard West
SPORT Gymnastics
YEAR Junior
ACHIEVEMENTS Fighting off a knee injury that plagued her throughout the winter, Mladucky played a big role in arguably the best season in program history. The junior posted a second-place showing on the bars with a score of 9.525 while finishing 10th on the floor. She also finished 27th on the beam in the state prelims.
Claire Monroe
SCHOOL West Chicago
SPORT Basketball
YEAR Junior
ACHIEVEMENTS The junior was the Wildcats’ most complete player in 2009-10. She averaged 10.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Monroe also finished the season with 32 steals and 42 assists. She was recognized for her outstanding play during the Oswego East Holiday Tournament by being named MVP of the event (which the Wildcats won en route to an eventual 17-11 record).
Caitlin Schwark
SCHOOL Wheaton Warrenville South
SPORT Basketball
YEAR Senior
ACHIEVEMENTS This varsity veteran played a big role in the Tigers’ turnaround from a season ago, helping the team reach the 20-victory plateau after winning six games in 2008-09. Schwark was second on the team with 7.4 points per game, behind only Annie Shain (8.8 ppg), while adding 5.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Playing the most minutes of anybody on the team, the senior topped Wheaton South with 64 steals and also made 34 3-pointers on the winter.
Alexa Sharkey
SCHOOL Wheaton Academy
SPORT Basketball
YEAR Senior
ACHIEVEMENTS The 5-foot-9 guard finished a brilliant career for the Warriors with more than 1,700 career points and provided plenty of great performances this winter. Her huge contributions to the Warriors’ 21-win season included a last-second basket to defeat Wheaton-Warrenville South, 26 points and seven steals in a December win over eventual sectional finalist Coal City and an incredible game against Guerin in which she had 29 points, 10 rebounds, eight steals and seven assists.
Sydney Sharkey
SCHOOL Wheaton Academy
SPORT Basketball
YEAR Sophomore
ACHIEVEMENTS Forming a strong backcourt with her older sister, Sharkey continued to blossom into a star in her own right. The 5-foot-5 point guard joined her sister Alexa in being named to the all-tournament team at the Lisle Christmas Tournament, where her performances were highlighted by 19 points and four steals in a win over the host Lions . A consistent double-figure scorer in addition to her playmaking duties, Sharkey also had 14 points in wins over Glenbard South and Wheaton South.
Sarah Udelhofen
SCHOOL Glenbard West
SPORT Gymnastics
YEAR Senior
ACHIEVEMENTS The lone senior on the Hilltoppers, she was the unquestioned leader of the team that wound up finishing fifth in Illinois. A state qualifier in both track and gymnastics, Udelhofen placed eighth on the beam with a score of 9.275. She also was 17th on the vault with a 9.450 after placing 10th at state in that event as a junior.
Fantasia Vine
SCHOOL Wheaton North
SPORT Basketball
YEAR Junior
ACHIEVEMENTS In 655 minutes of action this season, Vine led the Falcons in scoring and was their most well-rounded player. The junior averaged 14.7 points and 5.39 rebounds while shooting 76.6 percent from the foul line. She also collected 79 assists, 58 steals and shot 35.4 percent from three-point land. Don’t be surprised if she is one of the top players in the DuPage Valley Conference next season.
Abbey White
SCHOOL Glenbard West
SPORT Basketball
YEAR Senior
ACHIEVEMENTS A 1,000-plus point scorer for her career, White ended her four years on varsity with a solid senior campaign. She led the Hilltoppers with 12.4 points per game, and also finished with 39 3-pointers. A good rebounder for a guard, the West Suburban Silver all-conference pick totaled 42 offensive boards and 100 overall while contributing 63 assists, 37 steals and six blocked shots. White will continue her career at Illinois Wesleyan University.
HONORABLE MENTION:
Glenbard South
Danielle Chitkowski, basketball; Sarah Engelhardt, basketball
Glenbard West
Megan Brennan, gymnastics, Missy Guzman, gymnastics; Abbie Hastings, basketball; Nicole Hazemi, basketball
St. Francis
Kelly McShea, basketball
West Chicago
Jessica Baids, basketball
Wheaton Academy
Kristine Egebrecht, basketball; Meghan Grant, basketball
Wheaton North
A.K. Feltes, basketball
Wheaton Warrenville South
Elizabeth Ciesielski, gymnastics; Katie Ottolin, basketball; Annie Shain, basketball
