Ten athletes. Twelve meets. Fifteen seasons. One state championship.
Merriam Webster defines gymnastics as “physical exercises designed to develop strength and coordination.” But for Altoona’s gymnastics team, it means more than that. From their first meet on Dec. 12 to the state competition in Huntingdon on Feb. 21 and 22, the athletes grew individually and collectively. At the end of their undefeated season, the team placed first in the States Gold Division.
“Starting out, the team clicked—we all got along,” freshman gymnast Katie Bettwy said. “I think when it comes to winning as a team, you have to be a team first and get along. Throughout the whole season, we all got closer. We really came together when it came to States and won.”
Senior gymnast Zoe Weaver is proud of the team and thankful for the season’s successes. When she found out the team had qualified for States based on their all-around score from the 10 season meets, Weaver was thrilled.
“Our overall team scores have been really high this year,” Weaver said. “We went to Districts as a team, and we got first place there. Then, we advanced onto States and won the Gold Division at States.”
The team began the season with a score of 136 and concluded with a score of 146, which is determined by a zero to 10-point evaluation for each event. Senior team captain Emma Bettwy is proud of the team’s accomplishments.
“The gymnastics season went great overall,” Emma Bettwy said. “We didn’t lose one home meet. I’m definitely going to miss it a lot. The bonds with your teammates are a lot different than the bonds you build with other people.”
Emma Bettwy has been doing gymnastics for 15 years, Weaver for 16 years, and sophomore gymnast Linae Heaster for 11 years. Freshmen gymnasts Katie Bettwy, Marissa Rosas and Taylor Lear were new to the team this year, but the supportive environment from the coaches and their fellow teammates allowed them to feel welcome in the group.
“[Emma Bettwy], our captain, really keeps the team together. I think she keeps everyone happy and friendly, and she always helps us with the mat and does all the things a coach has to do,” Rosas said.
“I think the team has such good teamwork, and we all work together super well in the team in the season,” Lear said. “They just made it so much better, and it was just an overall really good season, because we all just worked together and made everything work great.”
The team’s teamwork allowed them to complete their 15th undefeated season and defend the State Championship title.
“I was honored to go [to States] because there were a lot of schools there, and it felt really cool to be in the Gold Division,” Rosas said. “It was definitely nerve-wracking. For me, I also competed individually, so that had no team component. It was fun to have a competition where there was less pressure, and it was more fun.”
At the State competition, the team events were on Friday, Feb. 21 and the individual events were on Saturday, Feb. 22. The team warmed up on all events an hour before the meet began on both days. Before each meet, the gymnasts also follow a pre-meet ritual in the locker room.
“We get there, and we go to a locker room and pull up our hair and find confidence,” Heaster said. “We’ll go out and stretch. Then we’ll walk out, get introduced and say our names. We sit in a circle, we pray and then we do our cheer. On home meets, we’ll start on vault. We’ll compete vault, and then we’ll compete bars, beam and floor.”
Looking into the future, Emma Bettwy and Weaver have wrapped up competitive gymnastics with an undefeated season and State Championship title. Emma Bettwy is hoping to continue to pursue gymnastics in her free time after high school, but she isn’t planning on continuing competitively. For Rosas, Lear, Katie Bettwy and Heaster, all four are planning to continue being a part of the gymnastics team at the high school.
“This is our coach’s last year,” Rosas said. “He’s been doing it forever. I think it was really cool to be part of his last team and win for him again.”
