Simpson College men’s and women’s gymnastics began their competition seasons with success and improvement .
The women’s team competed in their season opener against Hamline University, with a winning score of 186.600. Junior Liz Sisler won the uneven bars title, junior Evalyn Resnick acquired the balance beam title and sophomore Emmie Barton tied for first on the vault with senior Kaelyn Tally, who also took home the gold on the floor exercise.
Sisler spoke highly about the team’s first competition of the season.
“I feel like we went in with our heads held high, and we left with our heads held even higher. That gives us a great kick off,” she said.
Sisler feels proud of all the work her team has done and knows the positive energy, confidence and trust in who they are as a team is going to take them far.
Resnick detailed the capabilities of their team.
“We want to believe in ourselves that there’s no reason we shouldn’t be up there with the top-tier teams, competing right next to them. You know, winning against them. There’s nothing really stopping us,” she said.
Resnick has faith in her team and knows they can peak at the right time. Mistakes will continue to happen, but they will work every day to improve. The women’s team has high aspirations of qualifying for the Division III national championships and reaching an all-time high meet score of 190 points.
They are doing everything in their power to see consistent and steady growth. A strong team culture is how Sisler sees them reaching this end goal.
“It’s always finding the positives as a team and taking it as a team. Whatever happens to one person, it’s the whole team,” she said.
Sisler explained how the entirety of Simpson Gymnastics has had to band together. Storm gymnastics has been united after years of sharing a small space in Cowles Fieldhouse. Now with their own facility, they are recognized by everyone at Simpson, as they can practice how they want to compete in a space of their own
Unfortunately, the men weren’t able to take home a win in their tri-meet against the University of Michigan and Greenville University. Though they did see some standout athletes, as sophomore Braxton Jones and junior Brian Rollison placed third on the floor exercise and the still rings, respectively.
Their final score of 292.500, however, was a huge accomplishment, as it improved five total points from the previous season’s opener.
Similar to the women’s team, the men’s team worked on their team chemistry and put in the work to propel themselves forward.
Men’s head coach, Colin Payne, spoke on some goals they want to achieve.
“The past few years we have let other teams’ performances be a little too prominent in our competitions. This year we are striving to keep our gymnastics as the main thing. We want to tune out the noise, do the best routines we can, and let the numbers take care of themselves,” he said.
Payne wants only the best for his team inside and outside the gym.
“The culture of this team is one of brotherhood and growth. These guys have built truly impressive relationships and cohesiveness. It is very difficult for such a large team to not have fractures,’ he said. “The athletes have really embraced putting the team first, pushing one another, and being receptive to feedback from teammates. They’ve done all of that while keeping a good perspective. They know that gymnastics is only one part of who they are and manage their many priorities incredibly well.”
Payne is honored to witness the direction the men’s team is heading, as they have been able to make strides forward every day.
Jones emphasized how they want to make their mark this year.
“I really feel like this season will be different than all the others. We have put in a ton of work in preseason, and the team is just really motivated to do great things. We really have something to prove, and we’re going to go out and prove it this season,” he said.
Jones encourages the student body to follow their 2026 season and watch their dreams become reality.
