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Coaches
Head Coach: Andrew Arnold
Email: AArnold@d211.org
This is Andrew's first year as head coach. He is a Palatine High School alum and was the captain of the 2007 Boys Gymnastics State Championship Team. He attended University of Illinois at Chicago and trained with the Division 1 Men's Gymnastics Team. Andrew has more than five years of coaching experience and currently coaches the boys competitive team at the Palatine Park District. He previously coached the Boys Gymnastics Team at Glenbrook South High School. He is also a Navy Veteran and a licensed high school science and math teacher. Andrew is excited to be back at Palatine High School and looking forward to a great boys gymnastics season. Welcome Back Coach Arnold!
District 211 Head Coach of the Year
2026(Co)
RECORD
1-3
JV Coach: Nicholas Maniscalco
Email: NManiscalco@d211.org
This is Nick's fourth year coaching. He graduated from Palatine High School in 2020 and was also a member of the Boys Gymnastics Team. While on the team he helped win MSL Freshman Conference (2017), placed 3rd at MSL JV Conference (2018/2019), MSL West Division Champions (2019) and had an undefeated season in 2020 until it was cut short due to COVID. Last season, Coach Maniscalco spearheaded JV to their 7th MSL Conference and 9th MSL West Division Championship. Since starting, Nick has proudly coached numerous All-Academic MSL (acheiving at least a 3.0 GPA) and All-Academic IHSA (acheiving at least a 3.5 GPA) athletes.
RECORD
17-3
Freshman Coach: Curt Bendell
Email: teletimesystems@att.net
This is Curt's sixth year as Palatine's Freshman Coach. Last year he was honored as the MSL West Freshman Co-Coach of the Year. Besides gymnastics, he has been coaching boys and girls diving for over 30 years. He was the Assistant Coach for Iowa State in 1989, then transitioned to high school coaching the Fremd boys and Conant girls teams until 2002. In 2012 Curt became the head boys and girls diving coach at Palatine. He is also is an assistant for Schaumburg Diving Academy, Palatine Park District, and Windy City Diving where he is the Dryland Training Center Director. In high school Curt competed for the Fremd Boys Gymnastics Team.
MSL Freshmen Coach of the Year
2023(Co) / 2024(Co)
RECORD
24-14
Previous Head Coaches
Scott Hagel
Email: shagel@d211.org
Scott was the head coach for twenty two years and has been a girls coach and IHSA judge since 2000. Scott has been honored by the Mid-Suburban League Conference as the boy's head coach and girl’s assistant coach of the year. In 2007, 2017, and 2021 he was chosen as the Illinois High School Gymnastics Coach's Association State Coach of the Year and was inducted into the IHSGCA Hall of Fame in 2018. He is a past-president of the Illinois High School Gymnastics Coach's Association. He earned a degree in physical education and math from NIU in 2000, a master's degree in P.E. from Chicago State University in 2003, received his National Board Certification in P.E. in 2005, and a master's degree in Principal Preparation in 2018. Scott also is the Department Chair of Wellness at Palatine. He competed at Mundelein High School from 1991-1995 where he was a member of 2nd and 4th place state teams, qualified to state in the all-around, and was a state finalist on parallel bars.
RECORD
168-27
Christian Lunsford
Christian Lunsford served as the head coach for three years and six as the assistant girls coach. He has also been an IHSA certified official since 2021 and is still active. He helped the Palatine Boys Team win 3rd (2021) and 1st (2022) place finishes. He has been coaching gymnastics since 2018 and competed club, high school, and college (NIU) for sixteen years. Christian is a 2018 Palatine graduate and was a 4x varsity gymnast. During his high school career he was a 4x state qualifier, finalist, and medal winner. Christian was also part of the 5th (2016) and 4th (2017) teams and was honored as the Senior Gymnast of the Year in 2018. He is also an IHSA boys and girls gymnastics judge. In 2022 he graduated from the University of Iowa with degrees in History and Secondary Social Studies Education. Christian has proudly coached numerous All-Academic MSL (achieving at least a 3.0 GPA), All-Academic IHSA (achieving at least a 3.5 GPA), and All-American athletes. He was also the assistant coach for Northern Illinois University Men's Gymnastics Team from 2024 - 2025. Christian is currently the new assistant coach for the Simpson College Men's Gymnastics Team in Indianola, IA.
MSL Head Coach of the Year
2024 / 2025 (Co)
RECORD
11-5
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