‘Baby’ Drnec grows up for District 230
Sandburg standout enters season after winning regional on balance beam as a freshman
Last season, three-time state qualifierTaylorTalleywas excited to finally have Natalie Drnec as a high school teammate in gymnastics.
“I knew her when she was a baby,” Talley said in 2019 on the first day of practice for the newly formed District 230 co-op team. “When she was young, I said this girlwas going to be good.” Talleywasn’t kidding.
The District 230 team, which features gymnasts from host Andrew, Sandburg and Stagg, was stacked with talented seniors. Drnec, a Sandburg freshman, had towait a little while before making her mark.
Individualchampionshipswere tough to come by during the regular season while she was honing her craft.
But therewas one magical night where she not only beat out her talented teammates but eclipsed the entire Hinsdale South Regional field as well — including Talley — by scoring a 9.375 on the balance beam.
That score put her on the big board for the top 10 in Andrew’s gymnastics gym. She tied Jamie Valla for sixth on the all-time Andrew/District 230 list.
“I was aiming for a regional title, but I was pretty shocked by the score,” Drnec said. “I was struggling at meets beforehand, but I knew itwas time to hit allmy skills. Before that, I was falling on my skill series.”
Talley, Bella LaperaandMaddie Giglio have graduated, leaving District 230 with some new faces to take over, but coach Allison Hack believes Drnec could be one of those leaders now as a sophomore.
“Natalie was a regional champ as a freshman and that’s quite an accomplishment for her,” Hack said. “We thought shewould be an all-around, but she struggled with bars a little bit.
“But this year, she is hoping to pick it up. She already threw in a new skill on vault, so she is improving.”
Hack spoke about Drnec and her team Tuesday at practice, shortly before the Illinois High School Association announced putting all winter sports on pause until 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
District 230 touts possible impact players in senior Julia Kobel, who broke her leg early last season; Abbie Vaughan-Lee, who also competes in cross country
and track; and Becca Crnich, who was the SouthWest Suburban Conference Rookie of the Year.
Helen Wheeler, Jenin Hasan and Claire Domenick are also in the mix.
Drnec hopes the season resumes quickly becausegymnastics is a huge part of her life. She started at Orland Park’s Sportsplex when she was 3, tagging along with her sister, Elizabeth, to tryouts.
“I fell in love with it from the beginning,” Natalie said. “It was really fun. I was a really energetic kid. It was fun for me to try new things and flip around all the time.”
As for her sister?
“She didn’t like it from the beginning,” Natalie said.
As a longtime member of the Gym-Kinetics club, Drnec said she won state championships and had a chance to travel with the team.
Her most memorable trip was toNashville in January 2016.
Drnec said the trip was “fun,” but itwasn’t for everyone as one of the largest snowstorms in history pounded the city. Icy streets made what was supposed to be a short drive from the hotel to the gymnastics facility an adventure.
But through it all, after 12 years, the sport remains a passion for Drnec.
“I love the friends and the coaches,” she said. “All the coaches are so nice to us. I’ve always had that drive to do well, and I really have funwithmy friends.”