Merrillville senior Heather Osorio performed a perfect routine on the bars at last year’s state finals.
Just at the wrong time.
“When she was doing her bars warm-up at the state meet, she couldn’t have done it any better,” Pirates coach Diane Roberts said. “It was to perfection.”
But that was done in front of a small gathering of other gymnasts, coaches and judges. When Osorio mounted the bars during competition, she was all by herself.
“During my whole junior year, I did so much better with my nerves,” Osorio said. “But when it came down to the state meet, I went back to being that underclassman who was scared and didn’t know what to do.
“It was a big meet, and I just lost it.”
Osorio didn’t reach the podium in a forgettable third appearance at the state meet. And that bitter end has been the motivation carrying Osorio into her final high school season.
“My training this year has been harder than any other year I’ve had,” Osorio said. “I want to do as much as I can in my last year to make a name for myself. I’m doing a lot more new skills in every event.”
Osorio already has earned a bevy of accolades.
She was first on bars (9.825), third on beam (9.45) and third in all-around (38.15) at the Chesterton Sectional, the state’s most competitive. One week later, she was fourth in all-around (37.325) at the Valparaiso Regional.
When it comes this year’s state meet, Osorio is optimistic because she doesn’t intend to go alone.
“This year we’re going to go to state as a team and that builds up my confidence so much,” Osorio said. “It’s just like my freshman year, when we went as a team to state. It was still nerve-wracking, but it was the best year I had at state because I had my teammates with me.”
Osorio’s conviction stems from an influx of young talent at Merrillville this winter, most notably a large freshman class.
Add in fellow returning veterans like sophomore Cheyenne Roberts and junior Cryst’n Morgan, and the Pirates have the potential to qualify for state as a team for the first time since 2014.
“The excitement in our gym during every practice is something I haven’t felt in a long time,” Diane Roberts said. “Because they know — you just know when you have it.”
But competing in an area that routinely features several of the state’s top teams, Diane Roberts maintained that gaining one of the three state meet berths out of the Valparaiso Regional is far from a formality.
“We all know about the competition in the DAC,” she said. “We’re not taking anything for granted.”
Dave Melton is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.
TOP 3 TEAMS
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1. Valparaiso: The Vikings have captured six team titles and three second-place finishes at the last nine state meets. Much of the core of last season’s state runner-up team is back, including juniors Rachel Moneta and Jenna Algozine and sophomores Whitney McKeon and Lizzy Wilson. Expect the Vikings to again be among the state’s elite.
2. Chesterton: Sophomores Lexi Avey and Jordan Bush highlight the returning gymnasts at Chesterton. The Trojans finished fifth at the state meet, 0.525 away from a top-four medal. “We hope to continually get stronger and peak at the state meet to hopefully come home with a medal,” coach Dawn Matthys said.
3. Merrillville: The Pirates have three veterans back in senior Heather Osorio, junior Cryst’n Morgan and sophomore Cheyenne Roberts. But coach Diane Roberts could hardly contain her excitement when talking about a loaded freshman class featuring Alenah Guerrero, Abby Smith, Briana Thomas and Gaby Aponte.
TOP 15 INDIVIDUALS
Jenna Algozine, Valparaiso, sophomore; Lexi Avey, Chesterton, sophomore; Jordan Bush, Chesterton, sophomore; Megan Gushrowski, Michigan City, senior; Shannon Harrison, Crown Point, senior; Madeline Juestel, Chesterton, junior; Whitney McKeon, Valparaiso, sophomore; Meghan Miller, Michigan City, sophomore; Rachel Moneta, Valparaiso, junior; Heather Osorio, Merrillville, senior; Kaleigh Stack, Crown Point, sophomore; Johnna Vaughan, Portage, junior; Caroline Webber, Michigan City, junior; Lizzy Wilson, Valparaiso, sophomore; Sarah Zygmuntowski, LaPorte, senior.