Had you asked Tessa Poorker about Jocelyn Polansky's chances of advancing to the state gymnastics meet in early January her answer may have been blunt.
A big, blunt-no.
And most people would have answered the same way. Everyone except Polansky, who along with Brenna Deason, Izzy Olson and Kenna Smith will compete in the Class 2A State Individual Meet 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, at the University of Minnesota.
Don't blame Poorker for being pessimistic, however.
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State Gymnastics
- What: Class 2A Individual Meet
- When: 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23
- Where: Maturi Pavilion, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
- Who: Brainerd Warriors' Brenna Deason, Izzy Olson, Jocelyn Polansky, Kenna Smith
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"Injuries are tough, especially when you're a senior," Poorker said. "It happened in mid-December and she was very positive about it. I think deep down all of us were like, 'Oh no. Is she done for the season?' That kind of takes over your mind a little bit. But she came in every day with a brace on her hand and she worked hard. She made sure her body stayed in shape and she helped out her teammates and gave them advice. She was a true captain in that way.
"The day that she was able to put pressure on it we tested it a little bit. She just came back like she never left. We tweaked her routine and really tried to make all the landings good and she took all of our advice as if it were gold."
Polansky placed fifth on floor behind Deason, who won the Section 8-2A title with a 9.525, Smith who was second and Olson who was third.
"When I went up to the results room and I saw Jocelyn's name highlighted, my heart sank and I got goosebumps," Poorker said. "I was just so excited for her. I think the best part was she wasn't expecting it. I don't think she was even expecting to make the podium, let along to qualify for state."
Polansky scored a 9.225, which tied her with two other gymnasts. The head judge scored Polansky higher than the other two leading to her first state trip.
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"She's been feeling really good," Poorker said. "We haven't had to tape her hand or anything. She's been at full potential for the last week and a half.
"For her I just want her to soak it all in and land her passes and feel like that was the best routine of her life. No matter what the score is, just to make it as a senior is a huge deal. I'm just so proud of her and I can't wait to experience it with her."
Smith, a sophomore, will be making her first state trip on floor.
"Kenna really shows personality and sharpness in her floor routine," Poorker said. "She engages her teammates and she is so fine-tuned on the little things she does. We've worked hard on her landings. She has some harder tumbling passes and they look harder and you think the scores would be higher, but sometimes there are more deductions. We've really focused on the little things there, but she presented like a state floor contestant Saturday. I'm really excited to see what she does down there. It will be fun to watch her."
For Olson, an eighth-grader, this will be her second state tournament this year, but her first gymnastics state meet. She competed in the state diving competition last fall.
Olson will look to podium in both the floor and vault. She placed third on vault with a 9.35.
"We might play with her vault a little bit just to better the one that she has or we might try to do a layout," Poorker said. "We're going to work on it into the foam pit and see how it feels. She's been really consistent on vault for us so we're working on getting her up to that 9.5 and plus range could definitely put her up on the podium at the state meet. We're looking for that from here.
"On floor, again, it's just the little things. She has a really cute Addams Family routine that really fits her personality and the judges eat it up. It will be fun to see what the state judges think of it. There are no real upgrades on floor. We'll just clean it up and show it off."
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Deason was the Section 8-2A champion on floor with her 9.525 and on beam with a 9.62. She also placed second in the all-around with a career-best 36.55.
The eighth-grader will be competing in all four events.
"Her floor has been consistent all year long," Poorker said. "I'm excited to see where she can place floor-wise compared to the rest of the 2A athletes. She has a 10.0 start value. It's clean and it's a fun routine.
"A lot of other routines will come in with a lot more bigger tumbling, but the fact she can play off how clean she is I'm excited to see how she fits in there.
"Beam, it's a love or hate relationship, so if you can hit you can go big. That's always up in the air. Sticking a beam routine at the state meet is great. Getting 9s from the state judges is a huge honor.
"We're going to try some upgrades on bars for her and see how that plays up. It's the last meet of the year so what do we have to lose now."
