Girl’s gymnastics: flipping, twisting, and tumbling through the season!

How did this year’s gymnastics season go?

This season, Morton gymnast Kadence Kist ascended to regionals and sectionals with the help of her team and coaches. As a senior gymnast, Kadence practiced continuously to reach this goal. According to Google AI, high school gymnasts often train for many hours outside of school, requiring a significant commitment to practice and conditioning to master complex skills. To add on, Google AI states that while gymnastics is seen as a graceful sport, it demands incredible strength, flexibility, and coordination to perform intricate moves.

“Our season went really well! Every single girl on the team learned new and harder skills than when they started, and it was amazing to watch their growth. Our scores improved as the season progressed, and personal records kept getting better, which is always such a rewarding feeling,” said gymnastics coach Angela Tompkins.

“One of the biggest highlights was Kadence, who made it to sectionals on both balance beam and in the all-around. In gymnastics, the all-around is the crown, and she truly earned that title. She did an amazing job, and I am so proud of her and everything she accomplished this season,” said gymnastics coach Angela Tompkins.

“Since it was my senior year, I did feel way more determined than I did my other years. And I just wanted it more than ever. So, some steps I took were taking practice more seriously and actually talking to the judges afterwards for criticism to better myself,” senior gymnast Kadence Kist said.

“My coaches were the most supportive coaches I’ve ever had in any sport. Not just in sports, but outside of gymnastics, my relationship was strong with them, especially Coach Angela because I felt I could trust her and talk to her. Just always hearing how encouraging she was played a big part in how my season turned out. And with my other coach, Victor, always being there as a spotter and giving me security in my skills just really helped me mentally and physically at meets,” said senior gymnast Kadence Kist.

“Beyond individual accomplishments, what stood out the most was the sense of family and teamwork. This team came together in such a special way, and I truly believe they will continue to stay close and grow into a powerhouse team that other teams will need to,” said gymnastics coach Angela Tompkins.