The Lancaster Lady Gales gymnastics team made history by winning their first OCC division tournament; they also won in the OCC regular season. The team had a total of sixteen wins and five losses in their 2024 season. And the team finished in the top ten for all of the central district. Coach Jennifer Snider was also awarded OCC Buckeye Division coach of the year as voted by her peers at their OCC tournament. 

LHS gymnast Ava Stalter said that her senior season was one she will always remember.  Stalter won all around in the Marysville meet and placed fourth on the floor in the OCC’s.

“I had an amazing senior year! After taking last year off due to an injury and focusing on other sports I was surprised at how easily I was able to come back and progress with old and new skills”, stated Stalter.

Senior gymnast Morgan Whitlatch placed sixth all around in the OCC’s and she was also fairly consistent in every meet by being in the top eight. Whitlatch stated her season was so bittersweet and she will always carry her high school memories with her. 

“I’ve loved highschool gymnastics from the beginning just because of the environment and the girls. So it was hard knowing there isn’t a next year for me,” said Whitlatch.  

Sophomore Lexi Lape was awarded highest on bars, beam, floor, vault, and all around for the team. Lape hopes to qualify for states next season as she has been close the past two years. An individual challenge she faced this year was trying to stay out of her head and to maintain her confidence. 

“My skills this year were a lot scarier and staying in a good headspace was definitely a challenge,” said Lape. 

Snider expressed continued team growth is a major factor in next year’s season as they have seven graduating seniors who contributed to the team with big leadership skills. 

“We do have seven graduating seniors this year but we also have some very strong lower classmen and I’m excited to see how they step up into leadership positions within the team,” stated Snider.

Stalter expressed that one of the hardships for the team this year was maintaining a strong belief in themselves.

“The biggest challenge we experienced this year was confidence. With previously having a smaller team that didn’t compete well in big meets we had a low team morale which as the season progressed with bigger wins and good leadership we were able to face this and go into the OCC meet with confidence,” said Stalter. 

Whitlatch also agreed that a big challenge for the team this season was trying to stay motivated throughout every meet. 

The most challenging would be staying positive on off days, it’s hard to pick yourself and each other back up after a bad event and keep going, I would say a lot of the girls really struggled with that, ” said Whitlatch. 

Lape expressed that their team was very strong this year and they all carried a passion for each individual. And the bond they all carried was so special. 

“The team has been very strong this year and I give credit to the bond we all had. Everyone wanted success for each individual person and as a team we wanted to win. It was truly a unique year for our program,” said Lape.  

Coach Snider states she has been coaching gymnastics for over twenty four years and her passion for gymnastics drives her to continually improve her coaching ability and knowledge. 

“Every day is different and is an opportunity to share my love for this sport with others. It’s a great privilege to have the opportunity to mentor athletes of all types and abilities,” stated Snider.