H-F Graduate Derek Hartmann's Focus on High School Gymnastics Led to Special Memories

Derek Hartmann grew up aspiring to be an Olympic gymnast.

Chasing that dream resulted in Hartmann opting not to compete on the high school team during his freshman year at Homewood-Flossmoor.

“I competed in the Junior Olympics through club when I was 13, 14 and 15,” Hartmann said. “I chose competing at nationals when I was a freshman. It was the feeding ground for the Olympics.

"The top five guys for Junior Olympics get to compete in the Olympics, and I was gauging where I was at to see if the Olympics was a possibility. The best I ever did was about 19^th. At that point, I saw the camaraderie and fun the team at H-F was having and I wanted to help them win a state championship.”

Hartmann didn’t take long to make up for lost time.

After placing fourth in the all-around at the IHSA state meet as a sophomore, Hartmann captured back-to-back all-around titles and helped H-F win its first and only state championship in 1997 when he was a junior.

“Ultimately, I was always working toward winning the state title as a team,” Hartmann said. “Gymnastics had always been more of an individual sport for me until I got to high school. Club was never really team-oriented. Winning that championship in high school was a lot of fun.”

Hartmann won the all-around title his junior season with a score of 55.20, while Anthony Cirullo took second (54.25) and Peter Kallend was 11^th (51.30). Hartmann won the high bar title (9.50), was third on the pommel horse (9.40), fifth on still rings (9.55) and 10^th on parallel bars (8.15).

Cirullo won the floor exercise (9.70) and also won vault (9.60) and took fourth in high bar (9.10), while Kallend was eighth on vault (9.10) and Michael Braun was another key contributor.

“I grew up with a lot of the kids from Gym Kinetics,” Hartmann said. “I competed with Anthony Cirullo and Pete Kallend since we were 6 and 7. Everything evolved over the years and it all came together junior and senior year and it was really cool to win state with them.”

H-F (161.75) finished ahead of Lincoln-Way (156.70) and Hinsdale Central (156.40).

The Vikings finished runner-up to Glenbard West the previous season and the title team capped a string of five straight state appearances.

“That championship (season) is considered one of the most dominant teams in the history of the state,” said Mark Watman, who was the H-F coach at the time. “When they walked into the gym, it was incredible. I couldn’t have asked for a more focused and motivated group. When they threw their routines during practices, it was like a state meet. There were rivalries within the team and guys were not going to go down without a fight.

“After taking second the year before, everyone knew barring something unforeseen, that we were the favorite to win state. The gymnasts didn’t feel pressure at all. They felt it was their destiny. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I knew that was our year to do it.”

Hartmann's Early Stages of Success

Hartmann felt he had an advantage over many gymnasts by the time he got to high school.

“I started flipping around on the couches when I was 3 or 4, so my parents thought they should put my energy to good use and put me in a tot class,” he said. “I transferred to Gym Kinetics and was kind of fast-tracked.”

Hartmann went on to become one of the top gymnasts in Illinois history.

“I had a head start over a lot of guys,” he said. “Some guys didn’t start until they were in high school and I started when I was 4. I don’t want to say I anticipated doing as well as I did, but I had been doing it forever and gymnastics was second nature to me.”

Hartmann defended his all-around title as a senior with a score of 56.70, which currently ranks tied for the 11^th best score all-time in Illinois.

He tied for first on pommel horse and still rings and was second in high bar.

“Hartmann was a machine,” Watman said. “He never missed. Other guys wanted to be like Derek and wanted to be in the limelight. We had several gymnasts that stepped up in a huge way and Derek was the icing on the cake. He was a great leader.”

COMING THURSDAY: Log on at 6 a.m. Thursday to find out what former Homewood-Flossmoor gymnastics standout Derek Hartmann is doing nowadays.