At the heart of Gustavus’ athletic program lies a talented group of dedicated student athletes competing at an exceedingly high level. Due to factors completely out of their control, the Gustavus gymnastics team does not enjoy the same coverage or notoriety that the majority of Gustie athletic programs do.

Because gymnastics is much more of a specialized sport, there is no other MIAC school that participates in the sport aside from Hamline. Due to that fact, the Gusties are forced to compete in the Wisconsin Inter-Athletic Conference, along with the Pipers and fellow Minnesota school Winona State.

“One big thing for us are the ten seniors we have on our squad. They bring a lot of experience and have been huge,” said Senior Captain Cat Osterhaus. “Because seniors make up a majority of our line-up, we have much more confidence and the leadership and positive spirit they supply only adds to our cohesiveness.”

Solid performances have been a staple of this team all season, as they won four of their six dual meets while finishing in the middle of the pack in all other events.

A week ago, the team competed in its final competition  of the season in Winona at the WIAC Championships. Gustavus finished sixth overall with a score of 179.400, five points behind event leading and conference powerhouse UW-LaCrosse.

“We really pulled it all together in the last meet. We really gave it our all and no one gave up,” said Head Coach Kris Glidden. “There is a huge sense of team with this group and with their experience, we expected more, to which they delivered…There was an intense sense of wanting and you could really tell in their routines.”

On March 20 and 21, six of Gustavus’ finest gymnasts will compete at the National Division III competion, which will be held at Hamline University. A smaller squad consisting of the six seniors who won the right to compete at the National competition are preparing for next weekends events. Aryn Bell (vault), Laura Hansen (beam), Meghan Johnson (beam), Jess Dolan (floor) and Christine Askham (all-around) will represent the Gusties proudly. Hansen was honored by the WIAC at the end of last month for her performance at the Best of Minnesota meet.

“The national meet is such an unknown. The scoring differences between here and out east are, on paper, usually 3 to 5 points higher, but at the national meet the western teams win,” said Glidden. “We need to hit our routines, need our best possible routines in order to perform at our peak.”

At the national meet, the first day is the most crucial. Only the top 14 competitors move on to the finals out of the inital 56, leaving the brunt of the importance on Friday’s events. No matter what the outcome, the Gusties have each other behind them.

“We care so much about one another, selflessly, knowing competition is bigger than just ourselves- its really about the team,” said Osterhaus. “We have such a deep sense of pride in each other as well as the program. We are so proud to represent Gustavus.”