By Jim Rueda
MANKATO — The last two years of Rachel Sargent’s gymnastics career have been seasons of ‘almost.’ The Mankato East senior hopes to turn that almost into ‘finally made it’ in 2009-2010.
“I almost made it to state on (the uneven) bars as a sophomore and wanted to make it as all-arounder last year,” Sargent. “I just didn’t have a good section meet last year and came up short. This year I want to change that.”
Sargent undoubtedly has the experience. She’s been involved in gymnastics since she was 3 years old and competes or practices year round.
“It’s in my blood,” Sargent says with a laugh. “My mom was a gymnast and all my aunts were gymnasts, too.”
The bars are her best event and the floor is the one that proves the most challenging. Her goal is to score a 9 in each event this year, something she has accomplished previously only on bars.
East head coach Brittany Hassing believes Sargent is capable of pulling it off.
“Rachel’s personality is one of her strongest points,” the second-year coach said. “She walks into the gym and she’s loud and she takes charge. She’s a great leader for us.
“She’s very responsible and she’s usually the last one in the gym. She’s a very dedicated gymnast; she’s one of my hardest workers.”
As far as team goals go, Sargent has high expectations. The Cougars averaged about 128.5 points last season and she would like to see the team score in the 135-point range this winter.
In addition to Sargent, Jean Smith returns a wealth of experience to the Cougars. Among the other top returnees are Ashley Lokken and Alina Fatieieva. Shelby Seifert should be the top newcomer.
Unlike last season, the East gymnasts showed up at preseason practices much more prepared.
“They had a solid two to three weeks of captains practices this year,” Hassing said. “They’re conditioning is so much better now.
“That means we’re much further along than we were (a year ago). Instead of taking so much time to regain our old skills, the girls have been able to start working on new skills right away.”
Hassing expects the floor exercise to again be a strong suit for the Cougars. The vault should also be good while the beam and bars should be improved.
“With one year behind me, I feel a lot more comfortable with them and they are more comfortable with me. We’re all looking forward to the start of this season.”
