Meet the Cyclone Gymnasts: Haylee Young

AMES, Iowa - In her first season as an Iowa State gymnast, Haylee Young has competed all-around in every meet, scored three 9.900's, earned the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honor and is now the 2015 Big 12 All-Around Champion. Though she has been excelling individually this season, Young's main focus is improving herself and helping out the team.

Young started gymnastics when she was just three years old and living in Maine. She started out in mommy-and-me classes, and when the family moved to Georgia they decided to put her in classes there. She trained at Georgia All-Star Gymnastics where she met Micole O'Dell, a longtime friend and now a fellow Cyclone gymnast. During her time at the gym, she also met Iowa State gymnastics alumni Milan Ivory.

At first Young and O'Dell didn't know that they'd be competing together in college, “I committed my sophomore year. I lived in West Des Moines, we still talked all the time but I didn't know that she'd be coming here. Milan, who graduated last year, went here so when I came and visited I stayed with her and I just really liked it. Micole committed her junior or senior year and that was really exciting because we always wanted to go to college together when we were little.”

Young spent most of her club career in Des Moines, Iowa competing with Chow's Gymnastics and Triad Gymnastics. She was coached by Liang Chow, Tom Moretti, and Donna Morretti. During her time competing as a level 10 gymnast, Young qualified for Junior Olympic Nationals in both 2012 and 2014, placing seventh all-around and fifth on floor in 2012. She was also a level 10 regional qualifier in 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2014. Young was also ranked ninth nationally on floor in 2014.

Growing up as a gymnast wasn't always easy for Young, “It was really fun, but it was really hard. There were a lot of times where I almost quit because it's just so mentally and physically tough. It would've been a lot easier to give up, but I just feel like if I quit I would've regretted it, because I love it.”

And she had many people encouraging her to pursue her gymnastics career. Not only were her parents very supportive, but she had an amazing role model at her gym in Shawn Johnson. Young claims she looked up to the Olympic gymnast before she even moved to Des Moines and they competed at the same club. The two became friends while at Chow's, and she looked up to Johnson's work ethic and competitive spirit.

Young's family also helped her to stay enthusiastic about gymnastics, “My parents, of course, are my number one supporters. They're always there for me and they're always pushing me to be my best in a positive way. They always have my back, no matter what. If I wanted to quit, they would let me take a break for a week and talk to me to figure out what was going on.”

Now that she's made it to Iowa State, Young is excited to be a part of the team and to compete for the Cyclones. Her goals for herself include trying to stay consistent, improving her routines, and bringing up her all-around. She believes the team has really good potential and is looking forward to seeing where they will go at the NCAA Regional on Apr. 4 at Hilton Coliseum.

Even when talking about her own success and earning the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, she goes back to the team and how happy she is to be a part of it, “It was really cool, because I didn't know how much I was going to be competing here. I didn't know if I would make it in the line ups, so to actually make all four line ups and then to receive that was just really an honor. It's cool to be hitting my routines and helping my team out and everything. I think that's the main part that I really like is helping out the team.”