The new season for the girls’ gymnastics team kicked off during their first meet Dec. 7 against Addison Trail.  The Varsity team, comprised of four girls from DGN and six girls from DGS, refer to themselves as “The Trostangs”.  This season, the team has one goal: competing at the highest level while working together as a team.

Since the team has athletes from two different schools, practices have occurred at DGS ever since the team has been co-op.  Although those who attend DGN cannot stay after school to train, they are able to interact with their teammates that they don’t normally see during the school day.

“Being co-op has been a great experience because it’s good to have different skill sets from both schools. It’s also nice to know people from across town and eliminate the DGS v. DGN mentality,” senior Kathyrn Snouffer said.  “A win for one school is a win for both.”

During meet days, everyone on the team has a routine that they like to follow prior to the event that they’ll be competing in.  Before the competition begins, all of the athletes have made it a priority to get ready together.

“Meet days are very exciting and energetic because we have music playing, we get our hair done, and we wear our competition leotards,” freshman Kaelyn Landry said.  “After we compete, we like to do team outings together.”

This year, the competition hasn’t changed for the girls’ gymnastics team.  In fact, already knowing which schools they should be on the lookout for not only prepares them for each competition, but each individual event as well.

“This season the team looks strong, very similar to previous seasons. The girls have been working hard in the off-season to improve their skills and they set competitive goals for themselves,” Varsity coach Kristyn Campos said. 

The team of ten consists of four seniors: two from DGN and two from DGS.  Since there was only one new gymnast on the Varsity team last year, having four new freshmen this season adds fresh faces to the team. 

“I’m excited to be able to hopefully become really close with each other as a team this season.  I could never imagine switching back to not being a co-op team because we work so well together,” senior Emily Smetana said.

Make sure to come out and support the girls’ gymnastics team Thursday, Dec. 15 for their next competition against Hinsdale South High School.  Until then, the team is working hard at practice to prepare themselves for a successful meet.

“The biggest competition in our conference is Hinsdale South, so we will just keep practicing as hard as we can and make sure we are consistently improving on all of our skills individually and as a team,” junior Madison Piotrowski said.