Temple University Athletics
Gymnast Trio’s Past Ties Creates New Team Dynamic
2.17.16 | Women's Gymnastics
by Marco Cerino, Athletic Communications Assistant
It's common for college teammates to grow up together and play for the same high schools. In the world of competitive gymnastics, it's not that straightforward. High school varsity programs are few and far between. However, the majority of those who perform at the collegiate level grew up around gymnastics clubs. Three of the current Owls are products of the same facility, Prestige Gymnastics in Lancaster. Sophomore Kayla Kennedy, along with freshmen Kelsey Miller and Breahna Wiczkowski, have seen their journeys and friendship take them from training in the same facility to teammates on North Broad.
Miller and Kennedy are both from York, 27 miles west of Lancaster while Wiczkowski grew up in Lititz, a smaller town to the north of Prestige. Kennedy and Miller trained the same hours together, at a separate time for Wiczkowski. Miller and Kennedy went to separate high schools so they wouldn't see each other as much outside of Prestige. Kennedy attended York Catholic, while Miller went to Central York. However, they kept close by attending other sporting events, although the schools don't compete in the same league. The Prestige environment, providing the competition opportunities for high school students, created a far-reaching social network for the gymnasts. "It was so cool, when you go to football games, I would have friends from other school districts," Miller noted.
One of her friends in another district was Wiczkowski. While she lived an hour away from York, she was used to training with athletes who traveled a distance to attend Prestige. "A lot of the girls from the gym came from all over so it's pretty normal to be around people from different towns and different cities. That was never an issue when we were hanging out." The company kept at Prestige is impressive. According to the facility's website, the boys and girls team have produced over 25 student-athletes competing at 20 different Division I programs.
Kennedy was the first of the trio to join the gymnastics squad on North Broad. She served as the conduit for the younger prestige members. "When [Miller] came and visited she stayed with me, and so did Bre Wiczkowski. It was nice for them because when you come on a recruiting trip you get to see the outside view of [a school]. Knowing someone actually going there, you get more of an actual feel of a school," Kennedy recalled.
Wiczkowski fell for Temple early in the recruiting process, looking for a big city school and an opportunity to pursue a degree in social work. The older host's influence was evident "Having Kayla here was a comforting notion, to have someone on the team and to know I wasn't going to walk into 16 different strangers. I had someone there, someone I had history with, someone that was a former teammate." In turn, she helped Miller with her decision. Miller mentioned how the presence of two Prestige members eased her mind. "Knowing [Kennedy], going into college, it kind of influenced my decision. I was happy that I knew someone who could help me meet new friends and show me the way." Miller and Wiczkowski live together on-campus.
Having those familiar faces helps ease the transition into college life, which includes a different emphasis on competition. Gymnastics is a solitary sport, unlike most kids play growing up. In the club context, individual effort benefits and penalizes only the competitor. In college, participating in the team climate means every success and failure reflects upon the squad. The ladies from Prestige note there's a different "intensity" competing at the collegiate level. "In the club level, it's very individual. It's not as a team. Coming to college and traveling as a team, everything is team-oriented. The coach puts a little bit more pressure on you because you're doing it for a whole team, not just for yourself. In club, if you didn't perform, it was on you. In college, if you don't perform, it reflects on the whole team and the coaches," Miller explained.
Prestige has sent trios to other Division I schools and having three members at North Broad has "put Temple on the radar", according to Kennedy. "I know some of the younger girls hadn't really been looking at Temple. Now that there's three of us from our gym here, more girls are considering the school." Continued success from the existing Owls will certainly help the program recruit from this in-state powerhouse.
It's common for college teammates to grow up together and play for the same high schools. In the world of competitive gymnastics, it's not that straightforward. High school varsity programs are few and far between. However, the majority of those who perform at the collegiate level grew up around gymnastics clubs. Three of the current Owls are products of the same facility, Prestige Gymnastics in Lancaster. Sophomore Kayla Kennedy, along with freshmen Kelsey Miller and Breahna Wiczkowski, have seen their journeys and friendship take them from training in the same facility to teammates on North Broad.
Miller and Kennedy are both from York, 27 miles west of Lancaster while Wiczkowski grew up in Lititz, a smaller town to the north of Prestige. Kennedy and Miller trained the same hours together, at a separate time for Wiczkowski. Miller and Kennedy went to separate high schools so they wouldn't see each other as much outside of Prestige. Kennedy attended York Catholic, while Miller went to Central York. However, they kept close by attending other sporting events, although the schools don't compete in the same league. The Prestige environment, providing the competition opportunities for high school students, created a far-reaching social network for the gymnasts. "It was so cool, when you go to football games, I would have friends from other school districts," Miller noted.
One of her friends in another district was Wiczkowski. While she lived an hour away from York, she was used to training with athletes who traveled a distance to attend Prestige. "A lot of the girls from the gym came from all over so it's pretty normal to be around people from different towns and different cities. That was never an issue when we were hanging out." The company kept at Prestige is impressive. According to the facility's website, the boys and girls team have produced over 25 student-athletes competing at 20 different Division I programs.
Kennedy was the first of the trio to join the gymnastics squad on North Broad. She served as the conduit for the younger prestige members. "When [Miller] came and visited she stayed with me, and so did Bre Wiczkowski. It was nice for them because when you come on a recruiting trip you get to see the outside view of [a school]. Knowing someone actually going there, you get more of an actual feel of a school," Kennedy recalled.
Wiczkowski fell for Temple early in the recruiting process, looking for a big city school and an opportunity to pursue a degree in social work. The older host's influence was evident "Having Kayla here was a comforting notion, to have someone on the team and to know I wasn't going to walk into 16 different strangers. I had someone there, someone I had history with, someone that was a former teammate." In turn, she helped Miller with her decision. Miller mentioned how the presence of two Prestige members eased her mind. "Knowing [Kennedy], going into college, it kind of influenced my decision. I was happy that I knew someone who could help me meet new friends and show me the way." Miller and Wiczkowski live together on-campus.
Having those familiar faces helps ease the transition into college life, which includes a different emphasis on competition. Gymnastics is a solitary sport, unlike most kids play growing up. In the club context, individual effort benefits and penalizes only the competitor. In college, participating in the team climate means every success and failure reflects upon the squad. The ladies from Prestige note there's a different "intensity" competing at the collegiate level. "In the club level, it's very individual. It's not as a team. Coming to college and traveling as a team, everything is team-oriented. The coach puts a little bit more pressure on you because you're doing it for a whole team, not just for yourself. In club, if you didn't perform, it was on you. In college, if you don't perform, it reflects on the whole team and the coaches," Miller explained.
Prestige has sent trios to other Division I schools and having three members at North Broad has "put Temple on the radar", according to Kennedy. "I know some of the younger girls hadn't really been looking at Temple. Now that there's three of us from our gym here, more girls are considering the school." Continued success from the existing Owls will certainly help the program recruit from this in-state powerhouse.
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