By Theresa O’Connor

Twirling, flipping, and sticking a perfect landing are all part of gymnastics but it requires hard work, discipline, and, more importantly, lots of flexibility. Several students at TPA do sports outside of school. Many spend as much time and effort at those sports as the on-campus student athletes. One of those athletes we would like to recognize is 6th grader Kaleeya Munoz.

Kaleeya has participated in gymnastics since the age of 3. She attends Gold Medal Gymnastics and practices 3 days a week for 3 hours each day. The main areas of gymnastics that Kaleeya specializes in are the floor and bar routines.

Kaleeya recently went to a state meet as part of the Excel program. She won first out of her age group and placed third in the entire meet. Kaleeya is currently preparing for her regional tournament that will take place next month. Right now, she is training hard and practicing routines for her upcoming competition.

The part she enjoys most about gymnastics is being able to learn new things in various sections of gymnastics. When she began gymnastics she did not have much confidence in herself, but with her mother and coaches cheering her on, she was able to gain more self-assurance.

Kaleeya is a great example of student athletes who perform in other outside sports. Yet, there are also many other Tempe Prep students who engage in sports outside of school. Congratulations to all of our hard working TPA students!