Oswego co-op senior gymnast Ava Sullivan stuck the landing on her layout Yurchenko vault and raised an arm in triumph before turning and hugging coach Michael Borge.
Sullivan knew she had just done something great, even though she didn’t realize exactly how great or how unique it was.
“My dad always tells me when I do any dismount just stick it like a lawn dart — like throw it into the ground,” Sullivan said. “That’s what this was, so I was like, ‘Oooh.’”
Borge was similarly excited.
“My reaction was that was the best vault she had ever done,” Borge said. “I wasn’t sure if it was going to be the top vault of the day, but that was the best vault she had ever done, and we love that the score obviously reflected that. It was just wild.”
Sullivan’s vault with little fault Saturday at the state finals in Palatine earned her a 9.7, making her the first state champion in program history, a fact she was unaware of until being told by reporters afterward.
“I mean, for real?” Sullivan exclaimed. “I did not know that.
“That is crazy. Oh, my goodness. I’m proud of how far I’ve come.”
Sullivan has come a long way from the burnout she felt from club gymnastics. Fellow senior Sam Phillip convinced her to try high school gymnastics when they were sophomores, and their partnership allowed the program to soar.
Sullivan won four medals at the state meet to become the most decorated gymnast in program history. She scored 37.05 to finish fifth in the all-around competition during Friday’s preliminaries, becoming the first Oswego gymnast to qualify for three individual event finals in the same year.
After winning the championship in the vault, Sullivan scored 9.425 to tie for third place on balance beam with St. Charles North senior Rachel Nicastro and took second place on floor exercise with a 9.525. Sullivan’s floor finish is the highest in program history on that event, and her all-around finish equals the best.
“I’ve seen Ava grow so much,” Phillip said. “She totally deserved this.
“She really put everything out there and got what she deserved. I’m very proud of her.”
Phillip also closed her high school career in style. She earned her first career medal by scoring 9.5 on vault, tied for sixth on floor with a 9.35 and finished 14th in the all-around with 36.5.
With their vaulting performances, Sullivan and Phillip became just the second pair of Oswego gymnasts to medal on the same event in the same year.
“Ava’s vault was amazing, the best one I’ve ever seen her do,” Phillip said. “I wish I could stick like that. I knew that she got it.”
Oswego finished fifth as a team with 143.325 points. The roster also included juniors Alyson Zieba, Frani Valenti, Gabby Schulte and Emily Kroll, sophomores Alenna Holden and Frani Schulte and senior Veda Haake.
Sullivan graduates with school records in all-around and uneven bars, while Phillip holds the records on floor and vault. Borge said those standards are likely to stand for many years.
“What’s neat for me is what’s behind it,” Borge said. “You can be an elite athlete and a garbage human being. That is not the case with these kids at all.”
Phillip may continue her career at an NCAA Division III college. Sullivan is headed to Arizona State but will not do gymnastics, although she said she might join the circus one day.
“I’m going to miss flipping around so much,” Sullivan said. “I’ve got to find something to keep me moving. I’m just happy that it ended this way. I just wanted to have so much fun and I did.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.