Lincoln-Way coach Skip Adamson is no carpenter, but he feels like one early on in every girls' gymnastics season.

"They're still pretty rough around the edges and we're going to hopefully sand some of those things down," Adamson said. "The season will depend on how willing they are to sand those edges off. It's always interesting.

"We graduated a stud last year (in Megan Weller) who will be hard to replace, and whether the other girls gel together, we have yet to find out."

Lincoln-Way's co-op gymnastics squad edged York 131.6 to 126.4 on Monday, in a triangular meet at Hinsdale South. The host Hornets posted 113.2 team points in Darien.

Lincoln-Way's Kaitlyn Neiheise edged teammate Claire Hiller for top all-around honors, posting a 34.80 score to Hiller's 34.10. Neiheise placed first in beam and bars, and tied for top honors in vault, while Hiller's score of 8.8 won her the top spot on floor exercise.

Neiheise finished right behind her with an 8.75 on floor.

"Claire and Kaitlyn were state qualifers last year and they're going to be carrying the load," Adamson said. "Emma Morris is the third one, and then we have to find that fourth scorer."

Morris' 30.60 was the fifth-best all-around score posted on the night. Lorna Krol's 8.35 on bars was second-best behind Neiheise.

"Overall, things went about the way I anticipated they would," Adamson said. "They missed where I thought we'd miss and we hit where I thought they'd hit. No real surprises."

For first-year Hinsdale South coach Jennifer Fichter, Monday was another incremental step forward for her Hornets.

"I think we're making progress. The girls are getting stronger each week," Fichter said. "We're starting to stay on beam more. Jessica Hawker stayed on, which showed in her score."

Hawker posted a 7.7 on beam and led the Hornets' all-around effort with a score of 31.70, the fourth-best total of the night. Hawker's 8.20 on bars was good enough for third overall, as was her 8.50 on vault.

"This was her best meet so far," Fichter said. "She stuck beam, and vault, bars and floor were all strong. And I thought Maria Manolis did a very nice job tonight. She did a full-on floor and it was only the second time she's done it."

Fichter also applauded Taylor Daley's effort on the night, and she sees the confidence growing for a young squad in Darien this year.

"Every time our girls are getting ready to go up on beam I say, 'What's the secret to staying on?' And it's confidence," Fichter said. "As soon as you doubt yourself, that beam gets mad and throws you off."

"I was definitely pleased with the confidence we started to show today."