Oak Park and River Forest freshman Hannah Thompson made additional sacrifices this club season to continue training at Legacy Elite Gymnastics in Carol Stream.
She was rewarded with her greatest accomplishment so far.
On Saturday, Thompson competed at the USA Gymnastics Level 9 Eastern Section in Virginia Beach, Va. — her first national championships in her first season of Level 9 artistic gymnastics.
“It was a really, really fun, amazing experience. I had a pretty decent meet,” said Thompson, whose 36.125 all-around was her third-highest this season. “It was all about gaining experience. The more competitions I go to and the more pressure situations I’m under, the better I’ll be able to compete in the future.”
Level 9’s nationals are split into Eastern and Western sections. Thompson tied for 19th out of 29 in the Senior 1 age division for Level 9s born between March 3 and June 24, 2001. She shared her division’s fourth-highest score on uneven parallel bars with a 9.35.
Thompson also finished first in team competition for Region V, which represents Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky.
During Saturday’s action in adjoining gyms, Thompson’s group twice yelled the Region V ‘Who are we?’ cheer. Other Region V competitors answered from the other gym.
“Things like that really brought everybody together,” Thompson said. “I think the most amazing part of the experience was Region V. You do all of the training camps together (during the summer). It’s kind of creating a bigger, more collective team.”
Thompson enjoys training at Legacy so much that she rode Metra trains afterschool to get there this season.
She joined as an eighth grader after years at the former Oak Park Gymnastics Center. Parents Kerri and Matt and her siblings are busier, and it’s harder to leave high school early. A teammate’s parent meets Thompson in Wheaton and drives her to Legacy.
“I definitely had to accommodate, especially with a busy school schedule. I had to develop a really strict system to get all of my work done for my classes,” Thompson said. “I’m really thankful. It’s (all) not possible without the help of my family and the continuous pushing of my coaches to help me get better.”
To reach nationals, Thompson needed a top-seven finish at her Region V meet April 8 in Bourbonnais. She was sixth with a career-best 36.80 – tying her career high on uneven bars with a second-place 9.525 and adding a seventh-place 9.075 on balance beam.
She previously scored 36.175 Feb. 4 in Ontario, Calif., and was 19th (35.55) at the state meet March 18.
“(Regionals) was my best meet of the year,” Thompson said. “I think the biggest thing for me was controlling my nerves and keeping a level head with the pressure.”
Uneven bars emerged as Thompson’s strongest event last season. For a while, it was the only event she regularly trained and competed because of a hamstring injury.
Another 36.80 at nationals would have shared 10th.
“It’s nationals and made me a little nervous. I realized, and the judges were saying (beforehand), this is your celebration for making it here,” Thompson said. “I’m glad that I hit the (bars) routine and I didn’t make any mistakes.”
Thompson also scored 9.05 (floor exercise), 9.025 (vault) and 8.7 (beam). She fell off beam but changed her back handspring-back handspring series to the harder back handspring-back tuck for nationals.
“I was happy that I decided to challenge myself and try a new skill,” Thompson said. “That was a perfect place to do it. There’s no more steps in qualifying. That’ll help as I move into next year.”
