CYber CYd with Jay Ronayne

In the latest edition of CYber CYd for the gymnastics team, coach Jay Ronayne checks back in. Ronayne gives his opinions on the progression of a number of gymnasts, his feelings about the team and much more. Next Thursday, freshman Michelle Browning will write for CYber CYd.

CYber CYd with Jay Ronayne

“The team is getting stronger and more fit than we were four weeks ago. Co-captain Ashley Kent is still leading the charge with some outstanding effort and leadership. Megan Barnes impresses the heck out of me. As you may recall, she had surgery on her spine one year ago and the doctors said she probably would not be ready to compete again until the 2009 season. Megan made a remarkable recovery and was able to do vault and bars by the middle of last year's competitive season. She had a good summer and is having a tremendous fall semester thus far. She is doing very well right now. I'm not saying that she is at 100 percent. Her back still gives her some aggravation which can be a source of frustration for her, but she is working through some discomfort and is doing a great job getting her routines together so she can return to the all-around this January.

“Co-captain Jasmine Thompson had a great time in Los Angeles this summer doing an internship at “The Best Damn Sports Show.” She gained lots of experience and made some great contacts for her future career in the entertainment industry. She also had some time to heal a foot injury that slowed her down a bit last year. It made me a bit nervous when she left for the summer, knowing she didn't have a chance to get in the gym and do gymnastics. But, she was able to keep her fitness up and is now nearly full strength and her bars are looking better than ever. She is currently training to dismount with a full twisting double layout. With some more hard work from her I feel she can be our top bars routine this year.

“We still have a lot of work ahead of us to reach our goals for the year, but at this point in the season, I am cautiously optimistic that we are going to be very good this year. Last season, we had two all-arounders in Jasmine Thompson and Nikki Dilbert (last year's MVP). Nikki is still behind in getting herself back into gymnastics shape after taking too much time off this past summer. But it appears that her work ethic is improving and she is slowly fighting her way back to the all-around for this upcoming season.

“Michelle Browning, one of our talented freshmen, has been very demanding of herself and was very frustrated with her workouts last week. I think she feels like she is behind some of her teammates but I feel she is doing a great job in preparing for this upcoming season. Jody McKellar has had a great month in the gym. She is looking better than I have ever seen her and will be in contention for winning the all-around in every meet this year. I look forward to watching her progress over the next few months, and I am so excited for her to have a lot of success this year.

“There is the potential to see five gymnasts competing in all four events this year. Do not be surprised to see Jasmine Thompson, Megan Barnes, Nikki Dilbert, Michelle Browning, and Jody McKellar as regulars in the all-around.

“Things are slowly coming together and we have a lot more work ahead of us to get the Cyclones ready to win championships. So with that said, let's get back into the gym and get even stronger, get mentally tougher, and prepare to win.”

Go Cyclones!

Jay

Players Mentioned

Megan Barnes

Megan Barnes

Michelle Browning

Nikki Dilbert

Nikki Dilbert

Ashley Kent

Ashley Kent

Jody McKellar

Jody McKellar

Jasmine Thompson

Jasmine Thompson

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