Bemidji Aerials reach new heights amidst record-breaking season

Mar. 15—BEMIDJI — The Bemidji Aerials gymnastics team just keeps breaking records.

Back in January's Winter Challenge Gymnastics Meet in Fargo, North Dakota, the Aerials marked a bevy of personal records as well as program records.

At the Gold Level, Lexi Jacobson earned an all-around score of 37.775, setting a new Aerials record. She also set a pair of new records on bars (9.725) and on floor (9.6), taking first across four events.

As a team, the Aerials Gold Level gymnasts earned a score of 110.975, shattering the previous team record of 108.925. At the same meet, Jasminh Phonethep set a new program record on bars at the Platinum Level and Samara Osborn set a record for the Diamond Level on the bars.

"Throughout the season, I feel like, 'Oh we're stuck again, we're stuck again,' and then at the end of the season, I'm like 'Oh gosh, we've gotten so much better throughout the season," head coach Brittney Gimberline said. "You look at the team scores or the individual scores or the gymnasts' all-around scores and the amount of records that we have broken this year is insane. ... They're doing amazing."

The Winter Challenge Gymnastics Meet was just one example of a season that's seen plenty of success and growth for the Aerials.

Three years ago, the Aerials Gold Level team had four athletes. This year, it has 22. Similarly, the Silver Level team had 10 athletes, and now it's up to 22.

The Aerials have four different levels: Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond. The program has seen a rise in numbers across all four in recent years, which has played a part in this year's success.

"The past three years, I've really focused on building up the numbers and getting us to have an actual team that can compete against these bigger teams," Gimberline said. "Also, the girls are doing really well. We have a good team of coaches right now, too, that kind of focuses on pushing them to their full potential and keeping it fun, but also we have structure and we have rules here, type of thing, not just crazy fun all the time."

"I really enjoy it," Osborn said. "It's really awesome to see how big the teams have gotten. When I started here, we had very few girls, the numbers were way smaller. A team for me was max five, six girls, and now we're looking at team sizes like 25, 30 girls, which I think is awesome."

In terms of competition, the fuller rosters have also allowed the coaches to ensure that gymnasts are fully ready for the jump to the next level. Heading to a higher level is strictly skill and performance-based, which has meant nearly every gymnast this year has been well-equipped for their current team.

"I would probably say about 95% of the athletes are fully ready to be in the level that they're in," Gimberline said. "You can really hone in on the skills that they actually need to work for that level and how to perfect them versus having to teach that skill. They already have it when they come to you, so now it's about perfecting it and getting it so they're ready to compete at the best of their ability."

This year marked a new first for the program as well. Most of the meets throughout a season tend to be closer to home, like the Tropical Twist Meet in St. Cloud or the Winter Challenge in Fargo.

But back in December, the Aerials Platinum and Diamond Level teams traveled all the way down to Sarasota, Florida, to compete in the Golden Sands Gymnastics Meet. It marked the first destination meet for the program.

"That was really cool, really fun," Osborn said. "Not only did we get to compete in the warm while it was negative degrees here, we just got to travel as a team, or team bonding experience."

Growth in numbers is a clear indicator of program health, but improvement isn't simply a result of increased participation.

It's a tight-knit group that meets at the Gym Bin, featuring a wide variety of age groups and backgrounds. That unified atmosphere has helped the gymnasts along in their individual growth, helping push personal records that result in positive team results as well.

"I think that we are very united as a team, we do a very good job at cheering each other on, being there for each other," Osborn said. "I think just that alone helps with the progression of the team. I think that having the older girls with the younger girls, like I said, we have a lot of age diversity in our group, and that really helps push and motivate the younger girls. I think that has been a big reason why we've done so well this season."

Osborn is one of the more experienced members of the Aerials, acting as a coach as well as a competitor.

As a gymnast, Osborn has broken "pretty much all" of her personal records this season, as well as program records, like the aforementioned Diamond Level record on bars at Fargo's Winter Challenge.

On the coaching side of things, Osborn guides the Silver Level team, bringing over a decade of gymnastics experience to the table.

"I grew up with other older high school girls coaching around the gym just like me," Osborn said. "So I kind of always knew I wanted to be a coach here when I was old enough. I've been coaching here since I was 14. I started out with obviously the younger girls, worked my way up to the team level."

"I think that kind of helps, especially in this platinum diamond group, when the older girls step up and take a bit of redirecting the younger gymnasts," Gimberline said. "They do a great job waiting. ... Samara, she's a Diamond, she's probably our highest level gymnast and she coaches our young kids. Hopefully moving up to coach gold next year, but we will see."

As a whole, the coaching staff has played a huge role in the team's success. Kayla Montgomery, Brianna Skerik, Chelsey Messner, Osborn and Gimberline have come together to form a strong leadership unit for the Aerials across all different competition levels

"I just want to recognize the other coaches; they do a really good job," Gimberline said. "They all really put in the time and effort and they want to be here, which is the biggest thing and the hardest thing to find in a coach; somebody who's dedicated to being here every day, dedicated to making the girls have fun and get better."

As the head coach and program coordinator, Gimberline is an especially foundational piece of the Aerials. She was a former gymnast at the Gym Bin and is in her 10th year as the team coach.

"She's been my coach pretty much since I started gymnastics," Osborn said. "I'd say she's not only my coach and my coworker, but I feel like she's definitely a big sister role in my life, seeing I'm the only girl in my family, she's like a big sister to me."

Gimberline started coaching during college, thanks in part to a flexible schedule, and has stuck around ever since.

"I think it's just something that's going to be a part of my life for a long time," Gimberline said. "I really enjoy it and I've gotten away from it once, and it was just due to different circumstances, never not loving to be a coach or not liking the kids."

Beyond the coaching staff, there's also the support system for the Aerials in the form of the booster club and the parents.

"I think it's huge," Gimberline said. "If we didn't have parents that were willing to volunteer or bring their kids to meets every weekend or get their kids to practice even, we wouldn't have a team. And that's kind of what our booster club does for us, too, is they provide the equipment, they pay me to go to meets, they pay for hotel fees and things like that. It's huge."

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