Centenary Ladies Gym Talk: April 11 Edition
Hey Ladies fans its 2/3 Juniors here, Knaps & Xi, for this weeks Gym Talk.
Hey Ladies fans its 2/3 Juniors here, Knaps & Xi, for this weeks Gym Talk. This weekend the Ladies performed at the USAG Women's Collegiate National Championships team and all-around finals. The Ladies were super excited for the opportunity to compete as a team at nationals because this is the first time since 2013.
We rotated in the order of: Beam, Floor, Vault, Bye, Bars. The Ladies started off strong counting 5 out of 6 made beam routines and had a team score of 47.875. Kendall Sanders had the high score with a 9.700. After beam we went off to floor, this was a special floor rotation because Junior, Xian Baumgartner competed her debut floor routine with her creepy, yet fun floor routine. This was her first full routine since Senior year in High-School. Shoutout to Kendall Huff for being a solid lead off with a career high of 9.725, and to Leilani Johnson for her 9.8 (we'll forgive the out of bounds:>) . The floor team score was a 48.100.
After floor, we were excited to head off to Vault. Our vault line-up this year has been really solid, and we are super excited about the energy and big numbers we are putting on the board. Shoutout to Freshman, Isabel Plaza, for going into the line-up after being sick for the whole week. Izzie's 9.5 was a solid number, which lead the ladies to a team score of a 47.975. After vault, we went into a bye. The Ladies used this as an opportunity to refuel and reset before bars.
The last event was for the bar stars to shine. Shoutout to both Seniors, Jenny Jackson and Sierra Ponder, and also Sophomore, Taylor Ann Wilson for hitting really clean and solid routines. We were so proud of them. This was Taylor's first bar routine in the line-up this year, and with an upgraded dismount! All together the Ladies scored a 190.875 and placed 5th overall.
A huge congratulations to Junior, Kendall Sanders (floor) and Sophomore, Taylor Ann Wilson (bars) for making it to event finals. We wish them good luck and positive energy as they compete today. The Ladies love you! We would also like to congratulate Juniors Xian Baumgartner and Kendall Sanders for being named All-Americans in the All-around today! Sidenote; this was Xian's first time doing all-around in her career – what a great accomplishment.
This season has been nothing but crazy. With some Ladies spending 50+ days in quarantine, to blizzards, and water advisories. This team has had to be nothing but humble and tackling each day one at a time. We are so thankful for every opportunity we were given this season because of all of the circumstances we faced throughout the year. This season will always be a reminder to how thankful we are to compete at the collegiate level.
With that being said, we would love to reflect on our season as a lady. Kendall Knaps- This season for me had many ups and downs. I had career highs on Bars and Beam on senior night. Those scores being a 9.675 on bars and a 9.775 on Beam. I also was a USA Gymnastics scholar-athlete and a conference scholar-athlete for the 2021 season.
A message from Xian- "I am so grateful for this season and all the things it has taught me. I truly got the chance to realize more than ever how important family and friends are. While I spent a lot of time in quarantine, I knew how bad I wanted this season too. I decided the moment I got out I would work harder than I ever had before, and I did just that. At the final meet of the season, I competed on floor making me an all arounder. Something I have strived to accomplish for so long. I am so grateful for my coach's, family and friends."
Kendall Sanders- I am beyond blessed to be able to have a season and get the opportunity to finish it off at Nationals as a TEAM! This year has been full of obstacles, but this team has stuck together and overcome every challenge. I could not be prouder of my Ladies and what we were able to accomplish this season! At Nationals I was given the opportunity to compete in floor finals. It was by far the most fun floor routine I have experienced. Every team was so supportive of one another, but I could hear my Ladies cheering from the stands. I know they have my back no matter what and I am forever grateful.
We would like to leave you with a final message from the junior mints:
We are so excited to have one more year to salute up high and stick down low, going into senior year!
Until next year,
Your up-and-coming Settler Seniors.
