Meet the Cyclone Gymnasts: Sara Townsend

AMES, Iowa - Sara Townsend has had her fair share of challenges getting to where she is today. Not only was it hard for the junior to get recruited because of her height, but she suffered a season-ending injury during her sophomore year. She was able to overcome both of these challenges, getting recruited by Iowa State and coming back to compete and earn a scholarship this year.

The Lake Zurich, Illinois native started practicing gymnastics when she was three years old. She attended preschool classes, and continued with it until she started competing. She trained for 12 years at Legacy Elite Gymnastics coached by Jiani Wu. Townsend liked almost everything about gymnastics, but she admits, “It's very time consuming. It's demanding and you learn that you have to make sacrifices.”

During her time at Legacy Elite Gymnastics, Townsend was a strong competitor. She qualified for the Level 10 Junior Olympic National Championships four times in her club career, in 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012. In 2011, Townsend took third place in the all-around at the Illinois state championships while earning a third place finish on vault and fourth place finishes on bars, beam, and floor. She also finished sixth all-around at regionals twice, in 2012 and 2011, and in 2009, she finished fourth at the meet.

Even though she competed so well at the club level, it was hard for Townsend to get recruited because of her height. The junior is the tallest Cyclone gymnast at 5-9. She says, “Coaches would overlook me because of my height, but Jay gave me a chance. He said I could come walk on here and if I did well I could earn a scholarship.”

Townsend has proven that she was well worth taking the chance of recruiting a taller gymnast. In her first meet of her collegiate career, she tied for first place on vault and floor against Wisconsin-La Crosse. Since then, she has competed in 25 meets for the Cyclones and earned the honors of making the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll and the Academic All-Big 12 Second Team. All of her hard work has paid off and she earned her scholarship this year.

Townsend would have competed in more meets for Iowa State, had it not been for a season ending injury at the Northern Illinois quad meet last year. She was competing on floor at the meet and tore her ACL. The injury required three surgeries total, along with several months of physical therapy. Things are looking up now; she is rehabbing her injury and has been able to compete on the uneven bars in 10 meets this season.

This season hasn't only been about overcoming her injury for Townsend. She's also found time to help reach out to the younger members of the team, “When I came in freshman year, there were six of us. So I kind of feel like I know how they're feeling. I just try to give them as much advice as I can and try to take them under my wing. I just try to help them out any way that I can.”

Sara Townsend hasn't let anything keep her from achieving her goals. Her hard work and focus have paid off, earning her a scholarship and a spot back in the line ups after a serious injury. With continued dedication, she is sure to continue being a strong competitor for the Cyclones into next season.