On Saturday, Feb. 20, the Freedom Gymnastics team traveled to Kellam High School in Virginia Beach, VA to compete in the state competition. The team placed first for the fourth year in a row.

“To be honest, this season never felt like it was about winning or losing,” said Emily Hyun, junior gymnast. “It was about recapturing a little bit of normalcy in a year in which the pandemic so drastically changed the way we live.”

Senior Riley Waldrop competed in the individual competition as well. Waldrop placed 7th on bars, 7th on beam, 4th on vault and third place in the all around. Hyun also placed in the individual competition with 3rd on floor and 4th on beam. 

“It’s incredible how much progress every single member of the team made in just a few short months through hard work and great coaching, despite COVID-19 challenges,” Hyun said. “I think our goals are just to keep pushing ourselves to get better each and every day, and have fun while we’re doing it.”