Meet the Cyclone Gymnasts: Caitlin Brown

AMES, Iowa - With only one senior competing in its 2015 season, Iowa State is very happy that senior is Caitlin Brown. Having just qualified as an All-Around competitor at the NCAA Championships for the second-straight year, Brown has been a key competitor for the Cyclones throughout her collegiate career. Although things weren't always easy for the Apple Valley, Minnesota native, her determination and perseverance have paid off for both her and her team.

Seeing what a talented and successful gymnast Brown is now, no one would have guessed the challenges she faced getting there. She's been working to get past mental blocks since she started gymnastics at four years old. Brown would stop in the middle of skills, and would sometimes go months without doing certain skills. It took her longer to develop some skills that her teammates could master quickly. She learned that she had to work harder to keep up with the other girls her age.

“It was a very slow and gradual, perseverance kind of thing. I've always worked really hard and had a good work ethic and pushed through every little battle I had. I think that's where it helped me in the long run and I think that's why I'm peaking every year, not just when I was younger and talented.”

She thanks her coach, Bryon Hough, for being such a strong support and always believing in her. He knew what she was capable of, and was able to get her to try new skills she normally wouldn't attempt. Once she tried something once, she was able to work back towards doing it again, and he could always get her to take that first step. As she grew older, he started letting her figure it out on her own, and coming to college was the ultimate test of how far she'd come.

Hough wasn't her only support growing up, “It was him and my parents. They didn't care if I was in gymnastics at all. When I wanted to quit, they told me it was okay and they would love and support me no matter what. Knowing that it was my choice to stay in it every time kind of made it that much better. I was never forced to do gymnastics. They were always there supporting me no matter what I wanted.”

Though mental blocks proved to be a challenge for Brown in her club career, she earned several honors in her 11 years competing at Classic Gymnastics. She qualified for the Level 10 Junior Olympics four times, where she place second on balance beam in 2011. She also competed at regional competitions multiple times in her career, placing first on bars, floor, and the all-around and taking second on beam at the 2010 Region 4 Championships.

In her first year at Iowa State, Brown continued to prove what a hard worker she could be. In the 2012 season, she competed on vault, beam, and floor in all 11 meets. Her best meet of the season saw her earning 9.825 on all three events in a win over Minnesota. She earned the team Newcomer of the Year Award, indicating what an important role she would play in the years to come.

This was made even more evident in 2013, when she received the Janet Anson 'Key' Gymnast Award. In her sophomore season, she set or tied career highs on every event and placed first on beam against No. 3 Michigan. She took first place in the all-around in the first meet of the season, which was the first meet of her career competing all-around for the Cyclones.

The highlight of Brown's junior season was qualifying for the 2014 NCAA Championships as an all-around competitor, making her the sixth Iowa State gymnast to qualify for the all-around as an individual in school history. She earned this honor after having an outstanding regional meet at Baton Rouge, where she earned her career high 39.400 in the all-around. She placed in the top three in at least one event at seven meets that season, earning her a spot on the All-Big 12 Championship Team as an all-around competitor.

This season, Brown has continued to make her mark on Iowa State gymnastics. She will go on to compete at the 2015 NCAA Championships this weekend after an impressive season. She tied the school record on beam twice this season, earning 9.950 on the event at Beauty and the Beast and against Temple. This helped her tie her career high on the all-around on her senior night against Temple with a 39.400. She tied for first place on the uneven bars at the Big 12 Championship after scoring a career high 9.900, and earned a spot on the All-Big 12 team on balance beam. She also received the title of All-American on balance beam this season.

Through her four years at Iowa State, she has loved being a part of the school and the gymnastics team, “It really is a Cyclone Nation. It's a community, it's a family. You feel so loved just being a part of this.”

In her four years as a Cyclone gymnast, Brown has been team Newcomer of the Year her freshman season, a two-time Mari-Rae Sopper Outstanding Performer, earned a spot on the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll all four years, has made Academic All-Big 12 First Team three times, made the All-Big 12 Championship team on beam and the all-around, was the 2013 Team Janet Anson 'Key' Gymnast of the Year, was named All-American on balance beam, was the 2015 Big 12 uneven bars champion, and is a two-time NCAA Championship all-around qualifier. It's safe to say that Caitlin Brown has made herself a name in Cyclone gymnastics, and will be missed in the years to come.