Heading into her first high school gymnastics season, Chesterton freshman Sophie Hunzelman didn’t set the bar too high.
“As a freshman, I wasn’t really expecting to do so well because of all those other girls who were so good,” she said. “I was just expecting to be an average gymnast.”
Hunzelman blew away those preseason expectations. By the end of the season, she was the all-around state champion, making her the 2017 Post-Tribune Gymnast of the Year.
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Chesterton coach Dawn Matthys said she couldn’t have predicted Hunzelman’s swift ascent to the top of the podium, either, after watching Hunzelman compete at a club gymnastics meet before the high school season.
“I knew that she was very talented but still had some untapped potential,” Matthys said. “She had room to grow.”
And Hunzelman’s all-around success at the final meet of the year came from a season-long dedication to every aspect of gymnastics.
“She made improvements in every event,” Matthys said. “She came in with a good skill level. The number of hours we put in at practice and at competitions helped her to fine-tune all the details. As the season went on, she added dynamics everywhere.”
Hunzelman had never been to the state meet prior to this season, not even as a spectator, and said there were some nerves before competition. It didn’t take her long to settle in, though.
“I knew what I had to do,” she said. “They were the same routines that I’d practiced so many times. It wasn’t going to be any different than any normal meet.”
She had a second-place score of 9.55 on beam and tied for first place on bars with a 9.65 to help her reach an all-around score of 38.2.
Along with her evolution as a gymnast, Matthys said Hunzelman also evolved away from competition thanks to her teammates.
“She came in very shy, very timid, very quiet,” Matthys said. “Her teammates brought out a different personality. I watched her come into her own. She’s got a great sense of humor and is very encouraging to her teammates. As good as her work ethic is, she helped others do the same.”
Hunzelman isn’t done with sports. After wrapping up her club gymnastics season, she joined the track team and is working with the pole vaulters.
“It looked like fun,” she said. “It’s my first year of track, so I was going to try a bit of everything. So far, I like it.”
Dave Melton is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.