The girls gymnastics team has managed to remain competitive despite large numbers of varsity injuries. As a result, many junior varsity players competed at the varsity level.

“The season has been interesting,” assistant coach Christina Tardy said.  “We’ve had quite a few injuries, especially on the varsity level. We don’t have a lot of kids on the varsity  level, so we had a hard time putting a line-up together.”

Despite this, the girls pulled through.

“For the most part, though, everyone has been working really hard,” Tardy said. “At the meets we look really good, we just haven’t been at our best so far. But looking forward to the conference meet and then regionals we’ll be able to pull it together right at the end.”

Senior captain Bethany Krupika was impressed by the junior varsity’s willingness to fill in for their team mates.

“All of the girls that have competed up a level worked really hard in practice to prepare for those meets and hit solid routines to help the team out,” Krupika said.

Another unusual marker of this season is the rise in first-time senior gymnasts.

“We had eight seniors, so [senior night] was probably one of my favorite moments,” Tardy said. “A lot of those girls when they came in didn’t have any gymnastics experience. Throughout the four years, and even for some of them this was their first year, they’ve improved a lot.”

Lauren Kainrath was one team member who joined her senior year.

“Joining as a senior I was terrified at first,” Kainrath said. “However, the team was so welcoming and open to helping me develop skills, and they supported me when I was trying something new.”

Kainrath notices a difference in gymnastics from other sports at Central.

“I’ve done basketball and track at Central, and the atmosphere is so different, it truly feels like we are one team that is here to help each other,” she said. “Doing gymnastics senior year was honestly one of the best decision I’ve made throughout my high school career.”