Gymnasts Sutton, Gradee Van Gilder enjoying one and only year together
· Yahoo Sports
Feb. 11—JAMESTOWN — Sutton Van Gilder's powers of persuasion are not to be underestimated.
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"My sister took a year off gymnastics and was on the dance team (but), I wanted to have one gymnastics season with her, and I knew that I could definitely convince her to come back to gymnastics for my senior year," Sutton said. "Somehow it worked. I was overjoyed that I would get to spend my senior season with her."
Sutton and her younger sister, Gradee, are two of eight gymnasts competing for the Blue Jays this winter.
"Gradee has always motivated me to be better," Sutton said. "From a young age, she always would try new skills, which would then make her almost begin to catch up to me. One thing about Gradee is that she always is caught taking lots of turns. Oftentimes, our coaches have to tell her to stop, as she is so determined to perfect all of her skills."
Gradee began competing in gymnastics at age 3.
"I started doing it because Sutton was in gymnastics," Gradee said. "My first memory is when I was in rec and loved playing on the trampoline and in the pit."
This season marks Gradee's first year on the Blue Jay varsity roster.
"I set goals to get new skills that would increase the difficulty in my routines at the start of the year," Gradee said. "My first competition I was a bit nervous but I then realized that it doesn't matter how I did as long as I was proud of myself and tried my hardest."
Sutton said Gradee's best event is the vault. Gradee's average score of 8.783 on vault has her ranked 29th in the state. Gradee is ranked 35th on floor and uneven bars with average scores of 8.625 and 7.867, respectively.
"I definitely have gotten some new skills that I didn't know I would be able to get this year," Gradee said. "This season has made me a better gymnast."
Gradee's not the only one who has improved.
Sutton is ranked sixth in the state in the all-around. Her average stands at 36.283.
"This season, I wanted to do better than last year, because that's all that I can really do," Sutton said. "While it didn't go how I wanted at the start, I have had small wins at every meet. I finally feel back in my groove, and am hoping everything goes up from here. I set these goals because I know what I am capable of.
"This season I have been consistent on floor and vault," she said. "I've only scored less than a 9 a handful of times this season. That is really promising, and compared to last year, that is definitely something that has improved."
On floor, Sutton's score of 9.258 has her in the No. 10 position. In the vault standings, Sutton is ranked fifth with an average score of 9.342. She is the only gymnast in the top 5 from a program other than Dickinson.
One of Sutton's vaults involves the skill known as a Tsukahara — a gymnastics vault involving a round-off entry onto the vaulting table, followed by a back somersault, often with twists.
"Flipping a Tsuk was definitely a difficult skill to learn," Sutton said. "I learned this skill freshman year, and over the past year it has evolved into a pike-shaped Tsuk, I have had many ups and downs with the skill, but I'm definitely consistent now that I have been doing it for so long. It can be dangerous, because if your hand is too low on the vault you risk hitting your head, or if you don't flip fast enough, you can land short, which makes your ankles sting."
While she's consistently flipping her Tsuk, Sutton has had other struggles to deal with this winter.
Sutton said at the start of the season she was experiencing a mental block on uneven bars but added that she recently overcame the fear and has competed the skill at the Jays' last three meets. Sutton is ranked 12th in the state on bars. The senior's average score is sitting at 8.850 — the top average score of any Blue Jay this season.
Other events have not produced mental blocks but the three-time All-Stater has still struggled with different skills from time to time this year.
"My straddle-straddle jump on beam has been difficult," Sutton said. "If your shoulders land too far forward, you will fall off the beam, and if your shoulders are too far back, you'll fall off," Sutton said. "It takes a lot of control to do, and even then, I still struggle with staying on the beam."
Despite challenges, the senior is averaging a 9.217 on beam in competition. Her averages have her ranked ninth in the state.
"I was super excited to get to be on the team with Sutton," Gradee said. "I have always wanted to get to compete with her. She has encouraged me to try new skills and work really hard at practice. If we are working on new skills to see who can get the skill first. We compete with each other and we really push each other to be better."