Next year, when Utah gymnastics is forced to go on without seniors Kristina Baskett and Nina Kim, head coach Greg Marsden’s squad will have three new recruits coming in to fill the void.
Utah signed three recruits Nov. 13, filling the three available scholarships left by Baskett, Kim and injured gymnast Stephanie Neff. The freshman class of 2010 will be made up of Katelyn Mohr (Carmichael, Calif.), Chloe Sims (Brisbane, Australia) and Meg Whitney (Mesa, Ariz.).
Mohr will be the second member of Utah gymnastics who trained at Byers Gymnastics for coaches Eli and Debbie Rodriguez and Mas Watanabe. Junior Annie DiLuzio also trained at Byers before her time in Salt Lake City.
“Katelyn is a very powerful, explosive athlete who comes from the same club as Annie DiLuzio,” Marsden said. “The athletes from Byers are always well coached and come to college with great technique. Katelyn can help us on all four events, but her athleticism will make her extremely competitive on floor and vault.”
Mohr was not only a three-time USA National Championships qualifier from 2006 to 2008, but also qualified as a Senior International Elite in 2008. This year has been a breakout year for Mohr, who also placed No. 1 on vault, bars and floor at the 2008 California Classic.
Sims will join Mohr on campus in fall 2009, bringing with her an impressive international résumé. Sims competed for Australia in the 2007 World Championships on top of her first place all-around finish at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
Sims competed in seven straight Australian National Championships from 2001 to 2007 and took nine individual titles over that span, including the all-around in 2001.
“Chloe comes to us with a wealth of international experience,” Marsden said. “She is powerful, but at the same time, elegant. Chloe has an infectious personality that shows through in her performance.”
Sims currently trains and goes to school at Moreton Bay in her hometown of Brisbane under the watchful eye of coaches Olga and Sasha Beloousov.
Whitney also brings an impressive résumé with her to Salt Lake City, which includes a 2008 national all-around runner-up for the Junior Olympic National Team. Whitney has also won the past three Arizona Level 10 all-around championships8212;2006-2008. Whitney, who was originally from Salt Lake City before moving to Mesa, Ariz., is an honor student at Red Mountain High School and will continue the tradition of Utah’s gymnasts, excelling in the classroom as well as in the gym.
“Meg is an athlete who is just beginning to blossom and whose best gymnastics is still ahead,” Marsden said. “Her early years were spent in Toronto competing at lower levels. Since moving to Arizona and competing for the Desert Devils, she has improved significantly over the past three years. Although she has gone for a while, this is a local girl who is coming home.”
Currently, Whitney trains under former Ute All-American gymnast Shelly Schaerrer Eaton at Desert Devils Gymnastics.
Next fall, the freshman trio will be joining one of the most successful gymnastics programs in the country. Utah has won 10 national championships in the program’s history and has finished as the national runner-up for the past three years.
Tyler CobbCoach Greg Marsden signed three new gymnasts that should fill the voids left by Kristina Baskett and Nina Kim after this year.