Grade: A-

Gymnastics has been one of State’s most successful athletic programs in the past decade and, despite a difficult end to the NCAA Regionals at Reynolds Coliseum, the success continued in 2012.

Head coach Mark Stevenson was named Coach of the Year in the Southeast Region for leading his team to an outstanding spring campaign highlighted by a steady top-25 ranking and junior Rachel Fincham advancing to the NCAA championships. Along with posting its highest single meet result since 2004 (196.775 at Sweetheart Invitational), the Pack received major contributions from sophomores Stephanie Ouellette and Diahanna Ham, seniors Jess Panza and Brooke Barr and freshman Lane Jarred. State had the EAGL Gymnast, Specialist and Rookie of the Week a combined nine times in addition to unsurprisingly inundating the league’s All-Academic Team. Before the season started Stevenson wanted his group to to hit 85 percent of its routines at meets, and they went above and beyond that goal.

Although key senior leadership will be graduating, the emergence of young talent and the soon-to-be-senior Fincham leaves State in a promising position moving forward.