Hey Centenary gymnastics fans! Freshman Kennedy Stephens here with my first Gym Talk.
This week everyone made goals on each event we are hoping to achieve before Thanksgiving break begins. We have all been working hard to cross them off before we go back home. Shout out to Rose for crossing off her goal of a lay out on vault onto a higher landing surface, Kendall Knaps for her double pike off bars, Xian for getting her new beam dismount, and Kendall Huff for getting her blind full and her double pike on floor!
Also a big shout out to all of our Ladies who are coming back from injuries. Lauryn Stiff and Madison, both recovering from a foot injury, are grinding it out, strengthening everything they can in preparation for their comeback. Lacey Wedge started some front tumbling on the real floor for the first time since her surgery, and Sierra Ponder is working back into the groove of things after her knee surgery. They are all working so hard to get themselves back and better than ever.
On Monday, we started the week off with a bang, celebrating Xian's 20th birthday. We are blessed to have her spunk and fun energy in our lives. Tuesday your ladies woke up to a very cold Dark and Early practice, but we worked hard anyway and really focused on our endurance. Coach Jackie gave us the day off on Thursday, so we all got to sleep in a little later and got much needed rest for our bodies. Friday was a memorable day for the Ladies. We wore blue to practice in honor of Melanie Coleman, a gymnast from Southern Connecticut State University, who recently passed away due to injuries she sustained at a practice earlier last week. Our hearts go out to her team and family. We have no doubt, our own Big Syl was there to welcome her to her new team.
We also had 2 recruits arrive to check out the campus. Leilani Johnson and Kendall Knaps already knew them, so it was cool getting to know our friends' former teammates. The same night we had a team dinner at Macalister's and had fun laughing and eating together. On Saturday we kept up the hard work preparing for season and freshman Leilani Johnson debuted her new floor routine. It is so fun and high energy, we are all so excited to watch her compete it this season. Coach Jackie scheduled practice a little earlier than usual on Sunday so we had the opportunity to watch freshman Rose Deshler perform in Camerata (this is a small specialty choir at Centenary). She sang beautifully and we were glad to support our friend and teammate on stage.
I am so excited to see how we perform this season. Our first meet is right around the corner. Keep an eye out for more Gym Talks to find out how the Ladies continue to improve and progress!
Love,
Kennedy Stephens
