From an early age, it was evident that any future sports endeavors outside of gymnastics weren’t going to last long for Chesterton freshman Madeline Juestel.
“I used to play soccer. But I taught myself how to do cartwheels and some other things, and I’d do those on the side while everyone else was kicking the ball around,” she said. “I was always out there doing gymnastics on the field, so my mom put me in gymnastics.”
After years of a more formal outlet for her gymnastics skills, Juestel is now part of a new wave of young and talented gymnasts that are starting to crack the varsity lineup at Chesterton.
But the members of that group are also inexperienced, which led to some preseason nerves for Juestel as she entered her first year of high school gymnastics this winter.
“I was excited about it, but I didn’t really know anyone on the team, so that made me nervous,” Juestel recalled. “I didn’t know what to expect at all. But I’ve become very close with the team.”
Getting to know her teammates was just one hurdle to overcome. The competitions were another.
“I was super, super nervous,” Juestel said.
Then, Chesterton coach Lauren West chimed in.
“(At first,) she had this deer in the headlights look,” West said while she and Juestel both laughed. “She still gets pretty nervous to compete, but I think she’s getting more comfortable as she’s getting more experience on the high school level.”
Juestel’s confidence has grown in every event, including the sport’s most challenging one.
“It’s only beam now, and it’s less than it used to be,” she said. “I used to shake, but now I don’t do that anymore.”
It’s been during her floor routines when Juestel has shined the most. She has this season’s team-high score of 9.4 on floor, to go along with her team-best 9.2 on beam and 9.0 on vault.
“Not only does she have great skills, but she performs her floor routine,” West said of Juestel. “And that’s what really makes hers stand out. You can do all these great skills, but if you don’t perform the routine, it’s just like any other.”
But Juestel is just one part of the youth movement at Chesterton. Classmates Brittney Troup, Zoi Heideman and Kirsten Wozniak are also on the roster, and West said there’s another wave of talent on the way from middle school.
“We have a lot of potential, but with the girls being so young, you don’t know what to expect,” she said. “It’s hard for them to see where their potential can get them without having them go through a postseason.”
They’ll get that chance in the next few weeks, beginning with the Duneland Athletic Conference Championship meet on Saturday. And getting every gymnast to stick their routines will be the focal point for Juestel and the rest of the Trojans.
“I think we have as much potential as any other team in the conference, but making sure we all hit on one day is where we’ve struggled,” West said. “We want to do the best we can and prove that we can put everything together and put out a solid performance.”
Dave Melton is a freelance writer.
Top 3 Teams
1. Valparaiso (1)
2. Portage (2)
3. Merrillville (3)
Gymnast of the Week
Rushelle Miller, Sr., Valparaiso: Miller won the all-around with a score of 37.2 as Valparaiso completed another Duneland Athletic Conference season sweep (7-0) with a 112.125-106.250 dual meet win over Merrillville last week.
