The Blugold women’s gymnasts have not competed in nationals since the 2012-2013 season.
The Blugolds returned to the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) Nationals on March 20 in Cortland, New York, after their most recent performance at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championships on March 7.
The team placed fourth at the WIAC Championships.
Along with this triumph, the Blugolds earned individual victories through an eighth-place finish on the beam from Hareet Gehlon with a 9.775 out of the team’s score of 48.500 and a ninth-place finish on the floor from Hanna Riha with a 9.750 out of the team’s score of 48.075.
The team finished the day with a score of 192.050. Gehlon is a second-year nursing student who competes in both beam and floor. Before nationals, Gehlon said she was feeling really happy with how the championships went.
“It’s kind of hard to even believe that we are going to nationals sometimes,” Gehlon said. “We kind of knew that it was definitely a possibility with how we were coming in, at least from what we’d been told, and it was more of like an expectation to just go out there and see how much we can improve from last weekend.”
Additionally, Head Coach Jessie DeZiel, who has been the Blugolds’ coach for five years, was awarded WIAC Coach of the Year after a strong season of breaking multiple records.
Plus, DeZiel has overseen the creation of three All-Americans and a national champion since her time at UW-Eau Claire.
DeZiel said she was proud of the team for qualifying for nationals, and as far as becoming coach of the year, she gave a lot of credit to her three assistants.
“Honestly, I probably would have never even been close to it if I didn’t have them by my side at practice and helping me with every decision that we make throughout the year,” DeZiel said. “I feel like it’s an award for all of us coaches.”
DeZiel herself was a nine-time All-American and is currently part of the Team USA Gymnastics Athletic Council/Selection Committee. Gehlon said DeZiel cares a lot for the team.
“She really does believe in us, which is really, really nice to be having that support from your coach,” Gehlon said.
Moving on to the team’s national performance, DeZiel and her athletes placed fourth with a team score of 192.800.
Blugold athletes Cadence Cordova and Kinley Rose tied for seventh overall on uneven bars with a 9.800 and became All-Americans for the first time, marking the fourth and fifth Blugolds DeZiel has helped coach to the All-American level.
The Blugolds’ highest score on the balance beam was a 9.725 with an 11th-place finish from Georgia Guynn.
The highest score on the floor came from Anna Pruessner with a score of 9.750 in 20th place, and the highest score for the vault came from Emily Leese with a score of 9.725 in 28th place.
Looking forward, Gehlon said it would be nice for the team to return to nationals in her remaining years at UW-Eau Claire, but it’s not a goal she is stressed about.
“I don’t like to have that kind of pressure,” Gehlon said. “Let’s do what we need to do now, and eventually, it probably will translate into something good.”
Curtin can be reached at [email protected].
