Community

Gymnast sticks college landing

By CHRIS WAGENHEIM, Times Correspondent
Published October 12, 2007

Apparently the apple doesn't fall far from the coaching tree.

Mitchell senior Kali Dunning will be walking the path of her coaches at Suncoast Gymnastics after verbally committing to Western Michigan University last month. Suncoast owners and coaches Arnold and Cindy Gwinn both attended Western Michigan on scholarships.

Dunning said her coach is thrilled about her choice.

"He didn't want to say anything," Dunning said. "He was like 'whatever you decide,' but I know he wanted me to go to Western."

Arnold Gwinn said he was happy just to see another one of his athletes go to college on a gymnastics scholarship.

"More than anything, I was excited that she got offers from several schools," Arnold Gwinn said. "I'm excited that all the work she has put in over the past years has paid off for her. That's exciting."

Dunning started at Suncoast at age 6, after watching Kerri Strug in the 1996 Olympics.

Since then Dunning has felt the ups and downs of competition. But as she has watched others quit, she has persevered and gotten to this point in her career, which has been highlighted by two national appearances at Level 9.

"There is a very small percentage of kids that get to go to that meet," Arnold Gwinn said. "So even qualifying for that as a Level 9 really looks good on the resume."

Despite the exhaustive time Dunning has spent in the sport, Arnold Gwinn said she is far from tapped out. He said the fact she is still learning and still retaining is what drew several schools to her. Schools such as Kent State, Towson and Central Michigan expressed interest.

"What's nice about Kali is that she is not done learning," Arnold Gwinn said. "That's what was attractive to college coaches going after her. She is still in the situation where she has a whole lot of gymnastics left in her."

With an original goal of making the Olympics, Dunning has shifted her priorities. She achieved one longterm goal by committing to Western.

"You know, there is always coaching," Dunning said. "I always wanted to go to the Olympics, but once I hit high school I decided that wasn't for me, I am going to go the college route."

Submit feedback, story ideas to kdixon@sptimes.com or call (352) 544-9480.

FAST FACTS

Perfect 10

Seniors who graduate from the Suncoast Gymnastics Academy almost always receive a scholarship to a college program. The academy has offered girls gymnastics for 12 years. Some notable names:

Angie Stritt, River Ridge, Towson University: Stritt was a member of the Towson team during the late '90s and still holds school records today.

Jessica Bagwill, River Ridge, Southeast Missouri State: Member of the SMSU team during the late '90s. She graduated from River Ridge in 1998.

Jamie Burnette, Ridgewood, Arkansas: A five-time national USA Gymnastics qualifier, she graduated from Ridgewood in 2003.

Heather Zolton, River Ridge, North Carolina State: Currently a senior, Zolton is the team captain.

[Last modified October 11, 2007, 22:44:41]