Gymnastics: Maddy Kees ends prep career with three state golds, top Daily Chronicle honor

DeKalb’s Madeline Kees competes on the Uneven Parallel Bars during the IHSA Girls Gymnastics State Finals Saturday February 19, 2022 at Palatine High School.

The past two years didn’t exactly follow the script Maddy Kees wanted, but the DeKalb-Sycamore gymnast’s senior season gave her the storybook ending she hoped for.

Kees achieved her goal of winning the all-around title at the IHSA State Gymnastics Tournament and claimed two other first-place medals at the event, capping her high-school career and earning her the Daily Chronicle 2021-22 Gymnast of the Year award.

“To win all-around is awesome because I feel like it’s one of the harder ones to win,” Kees said. “The next day you still have a chance to win beam or floor if you didn’t give your best performance. But all-around is just that day. Winning all-around has been a goal of mine since freshman year. It was an amazing feeling.”

After earning a pair of medals as a freshman in 2019, she qualified for state but did not medal as a sophomore. Then the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the 2021 season, and before this season ever started she broke her foot.

But Kees healed and ended up sharing the all-around podium with Gracie Willis of Prairie Ridge as champions, as each posted a 37.8 on the first day of the state championships. Then on Day 2, she posted a 9.65 on the bars and a 9.425 on the beam to claim two more gold medals. She also took fifth on the floor with a 9.35.

“Even though sophomore year wasn’t exactly what I wanted, and junior year, I think that just motivated me even more for this year,” said Kees, who was the Chronicle gymnast of the year in 2020 as well. “I’m super happy I left my mark on DeKalb-Sycamore gymnastics. It was everything and more than I could ask for.”

Kees said the support of her family, teammates and coaches helped push her through the rough patch. She said she can be tough on herself, and her support system recognized that and helped her out.

“It took her a long time to get back,” coach Andy Morreale said. “I think her confidence was down. But we talked a lot, and I told her she doesn’t have to be state champion in December. She has to be it in February.”

By the time she got to Day 2 of state, her main goal had been accomplished. She ended up adding three more medals to her haul, including the pair of gold.

“I think having that win on Friday really just made my mind relax, and was like I’m just going to go out here and have fun. I’m going to enjoy my last IHSA state performance,” Kees said. “Winning that just created a relaxed mental state.”

Kees will compete for NIU next year. She said she really like the coaching staff, led by Morreale’s brother, Sam Morreale, and appreciated their outlook and philosophies.

Andy Morreale said he expects her to make an immediate impact for the Huskies.

“I think she’ll be able to help them on two or three events right away,” Morreale said. “I think presentation-wise and the way she does gymnastics, she’s going to be a great college gymnast. And we get to keep watching her.”

Kees said she was beyond happy with how her high school career wrapped up, and said the ups and downs of 2020 and 2021 led to her achieving her biggest goal in 2022.

“It really motivated me,” Kees said. “This is my last chance, and I want it so bad. I’m just going to go out there and get it. I always tell myself to practice how I want to compete, so the performance at state really came from what happened at the gym the past few weeks.”

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