GILROY—Gymnasts Gabby Milano, Alexis Felix, Tiffany Roberts and Sloane Pace are a family—plain and simple. They train together and give each other tips. On the day of competition, they lend each other hair spray and makeup. It’s not until they look down at their uniforms that they remember they come from different high schools.
“It’s weird seeing each other in different (uniforms),” Roberts, a senior captain from Christopher High said. “This is the only time we see each other as not exactly the same. During practice and everything, we never see a difference.”
The Mustang and Cougar gymnasts have a unique situation as Nicholla Anagnoston coaches both squads. Where other sports tend to divide Gilroy, the gymnasts unite it.
“During practice, we’re not Gilroy and Christopher—we’re just all Gilroy together,” said Felix, a Mustangs’ senior captain. “We’re all one family and we’ve never had any problems. We work really good together.”
And these gymnasts are working hard.
The Cougars and Mustangs practice a minimum of three hours a day, honing their skills on the floor, vault, uneven bars and balance beam. For seniors like Roberts, Felix and Milano, this year has been especially tough, but their love for the sport keeps them coming back year after year.
“Even the simplest skill, you have to condition so much so that it’s perfect and exact,” said Milano, who is also a Mustangs captain. “We’re seniors, so we’re getting ready for college now and there’s so much to do at one time.”
The long hours are only a fraction of what these gymnasts have had to sacrifice for the sport.
All of them have suffered injuries from the sport, including Felix who has gotten hurt in the three previous years that she’s been on the team. Felix said she’s hoping to avoid injury in her final season.
Even the youngest, Gilroy freshman Pace has been bitten by the injury bug. She was sidelined for six months with bicep tendinitis, which left her unable to move her arms. During her recovery she was given a choice: either quit or get back on the mat.
“I just thought about what I love most and that’s competing,” Pace said. “I’m glad that I decided to stick with it.”
Milano has only done gymnastics for three years, but said she can’t move without something cracking. And for veterans like Roberts, who has been a gymnast for 12 years, pain is nothing new.
“If you couldn’t handle pain or you didn’t enjoy being beat up everyday with having to practice as hard as we do, you wouldn’t come back,” the Cougars’ Roberts said. “(It helps you) understand that you can always push yourself farther.”
It appears the pain and long hours have paid off. Pace and Roberts have finished in the Top 10 several times this year, including taking first and second, respectively, in the season opener April 1 in South San Francisco. Pace took fourth at the April 24 home meet at Gilroy High—which also featured Tracy, Half Moon Bay, Kimball, West and St. Francis—while Roberts finished in seventh place.
Pace’s best score came on the balance beam, where she scored a 9.4 to tie for fifth.
“It takes a lot to be able to do stuff on beam—it’s only 4 inches wide,” the Mustangs’ freshman said. “That’s definitely a mental game. It’s really fun once you get over the fear of being off the ground and on that small surface.”
Roberts put up her best numbers in the floor routine. She notched a 9.5 to take third in that event, which happens to be her favorite as she can flaunt her power tumbling skills that she’s honed since age 5.
“That’s just where I feel most comfortable,” she said.
For seniors like Robert, Milano and Felix, this year will be their last as gymnasts. With the season wrapping up at the end of May, all three said they are making the most of their final weeks with their Cougar and Mustang teammates.
“I just want to be able to come to practice everyday and enjoy what I do. Everyday I think ‘this is the last time I’m going to do this.’..My goal is just to be here and enjoy it while it’s here,” Roberts said.
