Gallery • 2 Photos

Julia Nathan

Gymnasts cheer for their teammates as they compete during the team's first gymnastics meet Dec. 1.

16 young, energetic gymnasts enter the gym focused and ready to accomplish their goals. As the majority of the gymnastics team, head varsity coach Gretchen Novack said the girls improve the atmosphere.

“The newer girls bring a lot of fun energy to the team,” Novack said. “It’s great because they’re always willing to work hard and stay focused.”

Freshman Nyah Johnson said she practices hard in the gym every day so she can accomplish her goals for the season.

“One of my goals this season is to compete in more than four varsity meets,” Johnson said. “I also want to learn how to do a back tuck by the end of the season.”

Freshman Savannah Romero said with this being her third year, she plans on staying motivated by focusing on the end product.

“Individually, I’m focusing on getting some new, harder skills to work on and be able to score above an eight on each event,” Romero said.

Romero said the team grew closer, and everyone pushes each other to do their best.

“As a team I want us to be able to beat our highest score overall,” Romero said. “I think our goal would be to reach 130.”

According to Romero, the team may encounter a few disadvantages when competing because of the lack of experienced gymnasts.

“We don’t have as many girls to look up to for past experience when competing,” Romero said. “But I believe we work hard enough to be as good as the rest.”

The girls’ next meet starts at 7 p.m. Dec. 15 at Chaska against Chaska-Chanhassen.