Crown Point freshmen Kat and Eleni Kostouros profess to be fraternal twins, everything about them appears identical.
They study together. They compete together. They’ll even adjust practice routines so they can work together.
When asked for clarification about that last part, the twins responded with a simultaneous, “Yeah.”
And now the twin sisters are taking on their newest challenge together: high school gymnastics.
Gymnastics has been the Kostouroses’ chosen sport from the age of 2. Their brief foray into soccer was ended by their habit of doing cartwheels on the field when the game action lost their attention.
That never happens at gymnastics, where the sisters serve as each other’s toughest critics.
“She knows me,” Eleni said. “So she can correct me more harshly. If I was paired with someone else, they might hold back because we’re not sisters.”
Crown Point coach Ami Pysh has been coaching the twins since they were in middle school and said their interactions are always positive.
“I’ve never heard them raise their voices with each other,” Pysh said. “It’s a real quiet encouragement. They never seem to get irritated. It’s always more of a gentle, loving nudge in the right direction.”
Just a few months into their first high school season, the sisters have become all-around competitors and — of course — have identical season-high scores of 35.5.
Perhaps the only difference between the two comes before competitions.
“I’m probably a little calmer. She gets more nervous before she competes,” Kat said while Eleni stood nearby, nodding in approval.
The addition of Eleni and Kat has been part of an influx of homegrown talent into the Crown Point program.
Along with the Kostouros sisters, freshmen Paige Hein and Madison Rolle also have roots in the youth gymnastics club at Crown Point and are now varsity athletes.
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It’s given Pysh a new problem: finding the right mix of gymnasts to handle the 16 performances at each meet.
“Usually, I have just a few standouts,” she said. “This year, it’s more like a whole team of really talented athletes.”
Trojans riding high: Chesterton defeated Valparaiso 113.3-112.25 on Jan. 31 in a dual meet featuring the top two teams in the state, according to the most recent coaches’ poll. Freshman Sophie Hunzelman won beam (9.6) and all-around (38.05), while sophomore Jordan Bush won vault (9.45) and was second in all-around (9.45).
“It was our best meet all year,” Chesterton coach Dawn Matthys said. “The girls really rose to the challenge. They needed it as a confidence boost. They’re extremely talented, but I don’t think they realized just how talented they are.”
Wolves’ diminishing pack: First-year coach Kaitlyn Schwanke already had a limited roster at Michigan City, and two more season-ending injuries have her down to four gymnasts. The team now consists of sophomore Meghan Miller, junior Caroline Webber and seniors Megan Gushrowski and Becca Jensen.
“It puts a lot of pressure on them because they know that every score counts,” Schwanke said. “They don’t have much else to fall back on.”
Dave Melton is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.
TOP 3
With last week’s rankings in parentheses
1. Chesterton (2)
2. Valparaiso (1)
3. Merrillville (3)
Gymnast of the Week: LaPorte senior Sarah Zygmuntowski led the Slicers to a dual-meet victory over Plymouth by winning all four individual events and the all-around with a 34.55.