Historic Feat for CMU Gymnast
3/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Finishing has become the buzzword in athletics these days.
Finish at the basket, finish the check, finish the opponent.
In gymnastics, it's referred to as `sticking it,' and it's oh so crucial. It's the dismount, the landing, and it's the last thing the judges see, and it can make a good score great, and vice versa.
For Central Michigan's Kylie Fagan, sticking it became the focus in 2015, and it helped put her among the very elite of the nation's collegiate gymnasts.
On Thursday, Fagan earned Second Team All-America honors in uneven parallel bars from the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches.
She is the first All-American in the 40-year history CMU gymnastics.
Jerry Reighard, who is in his 31st year as the Chippewas' coach, gathered Fagan and her five fellow seniors - Becca Druien, Tori Garcia, Preslee Harrald, Halle Moraw and Taylor Noonan -- to deliver the news on Thursday afternoon.
"It's surreal," said Fagan, an early childhood development major. "It's just, all the time and work that I've put into the gym has paid off.
"I was glad that my classmates, the other five seniors, were in there with me. I would not be able to have accomplished this without them driving me, pushing me in the gym every day. I have been dedicating my bars this year especially to them because I am the only senior on bars.
"I feel proud and happy that I'm able to represent our class in that event, for them. It was awesome for them to be there with me when I found out."
Fagan has been a model of consistency and excellence on bars this season, averaging 9.890. In 12 meets in 2015, she has posted a 9.900 or better seven times and has never been lower than 9.825. She finished first in nine of those meets, second in the other three.
"It just really speaks to the dedication that our athletes have because not one of our athletes were elite athletes," Reighard said. "They came into this program striving to be the best they could be and Kylie just epitomizes that.
"To accomplish that gives a lot of pride to me, speaks a lot about our program, but more importantly is a testament to how hard work really pays off."
As a freshmen, Fagan worked in all four events, as is typical. And, as usually happens with gymnasts as their careers progress, she found her niche.
Knee surgery after he sophomore year finished her for floor exercise and diminished her vaulting time. She turned almost exclusively to bars and balance beam, and won the Mid-American Conference title on bars a year ago.
She also came within a whisker of becoming an All-American in the event in 2014. Coming so close served as motivation, she said.
"After my junior year, I was so close, and I was like, `I'm going to do it this year,'" she said. "I came in last summer and this pre-season ready to be perfect. That was always my goal. I know you never will be, but you strive to be perfect.
"I would make every turn that I did count. I just wanted to do it the right way, get that way ingrained in my head, so that I would do it that way every single time. That was my main focus this year."
She also sharpened her mental focus and took dead aim at her ultimate goal.
"I told myself after last year that I need to be more confident and believe in myself, that I could it, and push to it," Fagan said. "I've really grown in that aspect this year."
It was the dismount that received her utmost attention and, clearly, her development in that area paid major dividends. She has one more guaranteed meet, the NCAA Regionals next weekend, and, perhaps, the NCAA Championships.
"I feel like this year I have really gotten better at the dismount part of my routine, at sticking the dismount and seeing the landing every time," she said. "That's the last impression the judges see, so that stick at the end is very important."
And as Fagan dismounts from her career as a CMU gymnast, she has stuck the landing, leaving an indelible impression on the program.
Players Mentioned
