Allison Fajt – Staff Writer

This weekend Gustavus’s Seniors Brooke Merila and Sophia Redding ended their gymnastics season on a high at Nationals held at Ithaca, New York. Merila placed 8th in the All-Around category and Redding placed 6th in bars- both earning the title of All-American.
“Getting All-American was definitely in the back of my mind, I didn’t want that to kinda be like the end all be all goal for me. And so I didn’t really know where I was in the rankings going into the awards ceremony so when they announced it I was very surprised and happily, happily surprised for sure,” Redding said.
Redding broke her previous record on bars that she had set for Gustavus’s program. Scoring a 9.725 she placed 6th in the category which secured her All-American title.
“It was a crazy atmosphere, it was very loud and over stimulating. But I just took a deep breath and focused on myself, then just did everything that I practiced and I finished and it was a great feeling. My coach and Brooke both gave me the biggest group hug afterwards and so it was super cool,” Redding said.
Merila competed in the All-Around category excelling in each event. In her first event vault, she received a score of 9.375. On bars 8.475, on 8.750 beam, and in her final event of her career she earned 9.650 on floor.
“I was the last competitor of the whole meet at that event so everyone was watching me which was kinda bittersweet, that’s always been kinda something that I thought would be so cool if everyone could watch. I looked around during my final solute and I saw my family was crying, I saw my coaches crying, everybody on the sidelines crying, so then I started crying. I’m not usually very emotional but that was the cherry on top,” Merila said.
The 2022 Gymnastics Nationals wasn’t Merila’s first rodeo as she previously attended Nationals her freshman year. Merila was honored both her First-year and senior year with the All-American title.
“It’s crazy these past two years, my sophomore year we went all the way through regionals and there were never Nationals because that’s when Covid really started and then last year we only got to have four meets. It was really nice to have that full circle moment,” Merila said.
As exciting as shiny trophies and titles are, Merila had more goals outside of the competition. She wanted to not only be a good teammate but a kind competitor as well.
“My biggest goal throughout my gymnastics career has always been to have a positive impact on other people, so being able to cheer for the other girls, being able to introduce myself. So just saying ‘hi’ and being a friendly face because gymnastics is truly a hard sport and you want to be able to support each other,” Merila said.
“Another goal was to not have any regrets, just go out there one last time and just be happy and soak it all in, not really coming out with a score or event goal because those are things that I accomplished a while back and this year has really been more just taking in all the small moments,” Merila said.
Head Coach Arin DeGrood and assistant coach Erin Sawtell were by Merila and Redding’s sides until the very end, always cheering them on and the women were so grateful for their constant support.
“Arin has been with us throughout my four years and she’s always been very supportive and her passion for our program has always driven us as a team. We also have Erin, she came in as a new assistant coach this year and she just fit so well into her role. Arin has always been passionate and vocal about supporting us and the team and then the other Arin brings a calm demeanor and grounds everybody else. It’s a really good balance to have in the gym,” Redding said.
Nationals was both Merila’s and Redding’s last competition of their gymnastic careers. The event allowed them to showcase their skills as well as end their career in the best way possible.
“At the end [of nationals] we did a senior circle. All the seniors joined hands in a circle in the middle of the floor and soaked it all in, and listened to a sad song of course, while everyone else was surrounding us. It was the epitome of D3 gymnastics and why we do it. We’re not getting paid for it, we’re not on scholarships, we’re doing it because we love it and because there’s such a strong community within it makes it really special,” Redding said.
Both women represented Gustavus all four years on the gymnastics team. Through all the challenges they faced they practiced hard and earned their titles as All-Americans.
“It has been an amazing four years with the relationships I’ve gotten to build. My teammates and coaches have been there every step of the way to support me. It’s been amazing, it’s kinda been a second family, a home away from home. There’s been a lot of emotions that come with the sport, that come with school, that come with growing up and so having a place that fosters that and wants to see you do well is all you can ask for in a school or a program,” Merila said.