The sixteen-year-old daughter of a Southern Illinois University Edwardsville staff member is part of the Regional 5 Junior Olympic Team that will compete at the 2013 Women’s U.S. Junior Olympic National Championships in Minneapolis.
DaWanda Gresham, accounting associate at the SIUE East St. Louis Center, is hoping that her daughter, Ciara, will make a good showing. But more importantly, Gresham said, she is proud of the teenager’s progress and hard-earned successes along the way.
“Ciara and her Region 5 team members have been committed to their sport all of their lives,” said Gresham, of Shiloh. “She loves gymnastics and is thrilled to have achieved this level of accomplishment.” Region 5 consists of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio.
Ciara is one of about 450 of the country’s best Level 10 gymnasts competing Friday and Saturday. Level 10 is the highest level in the Junior Olympic program. Gymnasts from 39 states compete in the championship, which features eight age divisions. Ciara is among 25 junior gymnasts from Illinois and is listed as: World Class Gymnastics, Region 5, and Junior D.
All the gymnasts are competing to become Junior Olympic national champions in the all-around and in the following four events: vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise.
For the past 14 years, Ciara has trained and competed in all the above events. “I have loved gymnastics from an early age,” said the teen. “As long as I can remember, I have enjoyed flipping and jumping.”
“At the age of two I enrolled her into a gymnastics class, because she was always flipping off of furniture and elsewhere,” Gresham said. “I thought it would help her burn up some energy. I didn’t realize it would turn into a passion that she would hone into a well-developed athletic ability.”
Gresham, her husband, Todd, and their 8 year-old daughter Kameron traverse the country with Ciara for her gymnastic competitions.
Traveling the country and meeting new gymnasts is an advantage of participating in the sport, Ciara said. While the 16-year-old has worked to become a good gymnast, she does not want to compete on the adult women’s Olympic team, but rather has an interest in becoming a psychologist.
“It’s too much for one person to think about,” Ciara said, “competing for the country. It’s a lot of stress. But looking back, I’m very thankful to have been in this sport.”
Before she left for the national championships, Ciara said, “My responsibility is to do what I do in the gym every day so I can help my team win.”
For more information about the sport, visit USA Gymnastics at http://usagym.org/pages/index.html.
SIUE East St. Louis Center
With a focus on empowering people and strengthening communities, the SIUE East St. Louis Center is dedicated to improving the lives of families and individuals—from pre-school through adult—in the Metro East region. The Center offers programs that offer the community renewed hope and an opportunity to reach educational, career and life goals. It does so by providing comprehensive programs, services and training in the areas of education, health, social services and the arts.