Wawasee Gymnastics Suddenly A Numbers Game
SYRACUSE – Holy numbers, Batman!
It took longtime Wawasee gymnastics head coach Nika Prather a few extra seconds to marvel at the sight of her team assembling for the preseason team photo. Equipment was still spread all over the south side of the annex gym, practice suits still tagged and hanging from racks, many of the gymnasts pensively asking why photo day was so early.
It was such a new and refreshing feeling for Prather, looking at 16 girls posed and smiling for the camera, one of the largest teams she has had in recent memory, maybe ever. Worried just days into November she may barely get to 12 gymnasts, Prather could only smile as several new faces became adjusted to the system.
Prather and assistant coach Sarah Wegener are more than eager to see what the club can do, and even more so ready to prove the numbers are capable of competing at a high level.
Eight of those 16 gymnasts are returners, and just about all of them have a level of varsity experience in at least one discipline. Three of the eight are seniors, and all have significant experience on the equipment, but only Molly Smith with elaborate all-around experience. Taylor Busse has the potential to take the step forward and be Wawasee’s next ace all-around performer, but was limited to just a bars participant after a tough ankle injury hobbled the agile Busse during the campaign.
Deea Coy has made her name on the vault, but is capable of all-around work.
“There are so many injury concerns already with my seniors,” Prather said. “I think we’ll be alright, but we have to just move past it and perform. We have to carry the mindset that we can get better, not look back at what didn’t work.”
Junior Ashleigh Frecker is poised to take the next step for the club after a strong sophomore year. Frecker has done well on vault and floor, but can give Wawasee points on bars and beam. Sophomores Haleigh Smarr and Jadelyne Skelton were key cogs in the Wawasee system last season, and will likely take on bigger roles with the team as the varsity team settles in. Skelton’s strength was the floor while Smarr could give Wawasee a solid all-around option. Sophomores Hanna Potulney and Autumn Yoder also gave Wawasee varsity depth in their initial seasons.
“I’ve made it clear with several of the girls that they need to step up,” Prather said. “We have a lot of talented girls that just need the confidence to get the skills out from inside of them. No fear. We can do it.”
Eight newcomers include a junior in Cassidy Manning and sophomore Bridget Griffin, both of which have club experience but have never competed at the high school level.
Freshmen Reagan Atwood, Katelyn Baker, Meghan Beer, Leia Munn and Kalynn Workman round out the roster. Prather has been impressed with the rookies, and feels Atwood has the capability to step in right away and help the varsity.
With all the good vibes with the roster, Prather still can’t help but look at the dormant sectional fixture on the annex wall, which last had paint dry after the 2004 sectional championship. The Wawasee Gymnastics Sectional could be as wide open as ever with several of the big guns since graduated and many of the participating teams left with huge holes to fill.
With the sport also in limbo as a sanctioned IHSAA entity, Prather wants to grab the opportunity while it’s still present.
“This is good. We have the numbers,” Prather said of the tourney. “We still have one more sectional title than anyone in the state, and we haven’t won in ten years. We need to hang a new number up there. I’m sick of looking at that board and seeing an ‘04. I refuse to sit here and just get passed in wins when we can do something about it.”