Zoe Schweitzer spends 32 hours a week practicing gymnastics, a sport she started when she was only 4 years old.
“I was on the trampoline before I could walk,” said Zoe, 14, who trains at X-Cel Gymnastics in Cranberry and is a member of X-Cel's Xquisite Competitive Gymnastics Team.
Zoe, a Cranberry resident, exceeded her own expectations with a gold-medal performance at the 2015 U.S. Women's National Junior Olympic Championships held in Des Moines, Iowa last week.
She was named the 2015 Junior Olympics National Bar Champion, beating out 57 other competitors representing more than 30 top gym clubs from across the nation.
“She's pretty driven all on her own” said her coach Lindsey Stancil, owner of X-Cel. “She loves gymnastics. She makes every day fun at the gym.”
Zoe traveled to the competition with her parents, Bill and Michelle Schweitzer. She competed in all-around and was ranked by event. She was second up on bars, her first event, and was feeling confident.
“Honestly, I was just hoping to hit my routine and place in the top 10 on bars,” she said.
Stancil said competitors don't learn if they've won until the end of the day. After Zoe finished her bar set to the fullest of her ability, both she and the coach knew she nailed the routine.
“I couldn't wait to see my coach because we had worked so hard for this,” Zoe said.
Even at age 4, Stancil said, Zoe showed a determination to do her very best at each practice. She got started thanks to her mom, who was also a gymnast and went into coaching, then later began judging. As time progressed, she said it was evident Zoe would be a great competitor with all the poise, skill and professionalism of a star gymnast.
Zoe is also a recognized Level 10 gymnast by the USA Gymnastics Association. She placed 9th All-Around in the Nation and will be a member of the USAG Region 7 All-Star team that is representing the United States in Scotland later this year.
Zoe, an eighth-grader at PA Cyber Charter School, said her goal is to continue, succeed, and get better every day.
She is the second gymnast from X-Cel to rank nationally at the Junior Olympic level in the last five years. X-Cel offers a range of preschool, recreational, and competitive programs in gymnastics, dance and cheerleading instruction for girls and boys 12 months to 18 years of age.
Larissa Dudkiewicz is a freelance writerfor Trib Total Media.
