Boardman’s Warhol headed for gymnastics nationals

April 22, 2017 at 12:09a.m.

BOARDMAN

Redemption is staring Anna Warhol right in the face.

The Boardman gymnast couldn’t complete her remaining events at nationals last year after getting hurt during her vault routine.

Warhol was determined to return to the tournament to prove herself.

“Last year at nationals, we actually started on beam and I did very well,” she said. “I had a career high. Then we went to floor and I did OK, but I actually got hurt on vault and I didn’t get to finish the competition. So I’m trying to redeem myself.”

Lucky for the senior, her hard work has paid off.

Warhol is heading back to nationals May 7 in Indianapolis to compete against girls across the country.

“I’m very excited. I get to end my senior year on a high note,” she said.

Warhol has been working on her craft for years. She started in gymnastics at 3.

“I started when I was young,” Warhol said. “My parents put me into it because I was really energetic as a kid. They call me the energizer bunny.”

The time came when her parents told her it was OK to explore other activities, too.

But Warhol decided it wasn’t time to hang up her hand grips just yet.

“They finally said I could pull out and do other things and I told them no,” she said. “I had already fallen in love with it by that point.”

While Warhol was falling in love with the sport, her coach, Sandy Sabo, was moved by her drive.

“I just kept encouraging her and her parents that I saw something special in her,” Sabo said. “I loved her work ethic and when she got older she would excel even more.”

And she did.

This isn’t just the second time Warhol has made it to the grand stage that is nationals.

“It’s something that you don’t necessarily get to experience many times,” she said. “I’m lucky enough to be going back for the second time in Level 10 and I also made it two times to Level 9 nationals.”

Warhol competed at the Level 9 nationals her freshman and sophomore years. Level 10 is a step up at the highest level of competition.

She will compete in four events: bars, floor, vault and the dreaded beam. The bars are her favorite.

“I definitely struggle with beam the most,” Warhol said. “There are girls who can just get up on the beam and they’re just naturally talented at it. I’ve always had to work three times as hard on that event.”

To place well in Indianapolis, she’ll have to overcome the challenge.

“She’s got a very strong will,” Sabo said. “She’s got to conquer that beam and her fears up there. If she knows that’s what she has to do she’ll do what it takes to be successful.”

Warhol’s success comes from the long hours she puts in at the gym.

“We practice in the summer for five days a week for 4 1/2 hours,” she said. “During competition season and the school year, it’s about four hours a day for five days. So I’m putting in 20-plus hours a week. I’ve given a lot of sacrifices to be where I’m at and I think it’s worth it in the end.”

Warhol wakes up, goes to school, goes straight to practice, does her homework then repeats the sequence the next day.

This is all while maintaining a 4.0 grade-point average. Her combination of academic and athletic success resulted in a full scholarship at George Washington University.

“That’s the special thing about her that I saw in the beginning,” Sabo said. “She’s so determined and she’s such a hard worker. She sets goals for herself and no ones going to tell her that she can’t reach those goals.”