On Wednesday, February 8, the Forest Hills gymnastics team returned from its break. For a little over a week, the ladies were competition-free. Over this time period, the team recovered from its busy schedule.

“It was great to have a nice break from our meets as it gave our bodies an opportunity to rest and recover from such a hard schedule,” said senior captain Abby Cummings. “We came back refreshed and ready to get qualifying scores.” 

Once they returned, they were faced up against multiple opponents in a non-conference quad at Rockford High School. This meet was one of the last for the girls to attain regional qualifying scores; this led to a mixed set of emotions.

“I think the team was excited and nervous since regionals are coming soon. Over the course of the season, each athlete needs four scores at four different meets for each event that are high enough to qualify for regionals. Without these scores, gymnasts cannot compete at regionals. We are working hard to get these scores,” said Abby. 

The girls did indeed work hard to attain some excellent scores. On vault, senior Maddy Bachert obtained a score of 8.7; she also got a score of 8.45 on beam. Junior Rachael Yeager scored 8.0 on bars; after that, she received an 8.75 on the floor.

Unfortunately, these scores were not enough to secure a win. Post-meet, the team had a lot to reflect on. It was awkward and an adjustment to return from being on hiatus. The gymnasts needed to implement many things into their team, mentally and physically. 

“I think we could work on cheering for the remaining competitors as we get closer to the end of our meets. Not only for our individual meets, but the remaining ones too,” said senior Lauren Wolffis. 

Abby also agrees. “I think something big is continuing to keep our energy up as our season is coming to an end. We have so much potential and need to maintain confidence in order to compete at our best.”

Despite the necessity of improvements, there were many things for the girls to be pleased with.

“I am proud of each and every girl on this team who is working hard at practice in order to compete with higher skills,” said Abby.

The ladies’ next meet is their senior night. All the seniors are ecstatic yet emotional about the competition. It puts them in the spotlight and tests them to see how good a gymnast they are.

On Monday, February 13, the ladies will be traveling to Rockford High School again. They will compete in a dual meet at 6:30 p.m. against the Rams.