Hello Pioneer Fans!

My name is Leslie Pladson and I am a junior from West Fargo, North Dakota. I am a Health Studies/Occupational Therapy major. With my third year off to such a great start, I am very excited to see what our team can accomplish. We have had many trials and tribulations and I feel like we have become close already! I can only see good things coming from this team as the start of the season dawns on us.

Tuesday, Coach gave our rookies an incentive on bars. The task was for all three of them to make their bar sequences in a row. If the task was accomplished, the team would get out of Thursday morning lifting. Audrey started us off with hitting her new combination followed by Chay hitting her new release move! Last up was Rashonda who caught her tkatchev! With the whole team behind them cheering them on, the goal was achieved! We couldn’t have been more proud of them. We were all excited to get a little extra time to sleep or study before Thursday classes.

Also on Thursday, we walked in the gym to find a new set of goals for us to achieve. Our first day we knocked a few of those goals off! That night, we attended the TWU Volleyball game against Midwestern State University. It was SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) night where all of the teams come together and attend a sporting event. It is a great way to get out there and support the other TWU student-athletes. We had great food and a fun time cheering on the volleyball team!

Friday was one of our hardest practices but also proved to be a mile marker for TWU Gymnastics. We had full routines on some events and had hard conditioning on others. Everyone made it through with thoughts of this being one step closer to season. That night, many participated in a community service event at Sydney’s (Coach’s daughter) school. It was their Fall Festival and we helped out with many of the different booths. We played games, helped with the petting zoo, and had a good time. It was a great week for TWU Gymnastics!

A special congratulations goes to my fellow junior, Keri Miller, for being voted this weeks P.O.W.! Her hard work and dedication have been paying off and it is showing both in and out of the gym! Congrats Keri!

This has been the TWU update for the week! Check back with us next week to see what we have been up to.

“Through our eyes, you see our hearts”

Leslie Pladson
Junior