Photo submitted by Marshall Area Wrestling Association Marshall wrestler Tate Condezo grapples with an opponent at the individual section tournament in Windom on Feb. 27.

MARSHALL — The Marshall gymnastics team continued to show signs of growth in its 2023-24 season. Despite the roster shrinking down to 10 gymnasts after having a roster of 19 the previous season, the Tigers continued to perform well and sent one gymnast — senior Cameen McFarquhar — to the state tournament as an individual.

This year was Sam Nielsen’s third year as Marshall’s head coach. Nielsen had also competed as a member of the team up through her graduation in 2019, so this was the final year that she would be coaching athletes who had previously been her teammates.

“It was very bittersweet knowing them as teammates, then as a coach and watching them grow in the sport of gymnastics, but also as a people,” Nielsen said. “You see your team as your friends, and then as a coach, you want nothing but to help them grow as much as you can with your time with them. So it’s really great that I’ve been able to know these athletes as long as I have.”

One of the big differences for the team’s success this season was its consistent access to a gym in the offseason, Nielsen said. Starting last year, the team began to hold practices in the spring and the fall, a change that Nielsen said made it so the gymnasts didn’t get rusty during the break and allowed them to keep their momentum from the previous season rolling into the next.

Aside from increased practice time, the group also increased their bonding time. Having a smaller group was in some ways beneficial because of the team’s more social events, such as pasta feeds ahead of meets or get-togethers over the winter break. With just 10 gymnasts, everyone on the team knew each other really well, Nielsen said, which made for better team chemistry.

“I also noticed that I got a lot more one-on-one coaching time with each individual and got to know each gymnast better. I would hope that they felt more seen and we [Nielsen and assistant coach Kelsey Labat] could give them more individual critiques at practice,” Nielsen said. “Each gymnast got to have their time at practice where the coaches were able to give them critiques and not be lost in the crowd.”

While the roster as a whole saw consistent performance improvements as the year went on, the growth started with the seniors. Jocelyn Schlenner and McFarquhar were determined to push and challenge each other every day, Nielsen said, and that commitment to growth showed out on the floor.

McFarquhar had qualified for the 2022 Class A state tournament as an individual on the beam, placing 30th. After missing the state tournament in 2023, she was looking to qualify for the All-Around this time around.

The judges only see what any given gymnast can do at the section meet. While McFarquhar’s performance wasn’t quite able to get her to qualify in the all-around individual competition, she was still able to qualify for the beam and the uneven bars. She placed 25th and 28th in the events respectively.

“Going into that weekend, we had a lot of conversations about not thinking about past events and kind of getting into a new headspace as we come to each event,” Nielsen said. “You have an opportunity every time you step on the floor for the beam or the bars or the vault, so getting into a new headspace before each event was huge for her.”

Schlenner also brought a lot to the team in her senior season. In one meet against New Ulm, she posted season-bests of an 8.65 in the vault and a 9.0 on the floor routine. Still, perhaps her biggest contribution to the team was in her role as a team captain.

“Ever since she was on the team, she’s been a leader and someone that’s very determined. Very much a perfectionist in a great way,” Nielsen said. “She challenges herself and others, very analytical but that works for her… When she sets her mind to a skill, she will work as hard as she can so she can get that skill, so that shows the rest of the team that if you focus on something, you can achieve it. And she came out of the season feeling like she had all of her goals achieved.”

With McFarquhar and Schlenner graduating, the Tigers will rely on next year’s senior class of Chioma Onyeaghala, Kendall Walerius and Isabella Colvin, as well as sophomore Autumn Deutz, to contribute to the team’s success.