DUNMORE, Pa. — The history of success at United Sports Academy in Dunmore is well-documented, but this year, they don't have just one or two athletes going to nationals. They have five.
"It's really good for our gym, especially this year. Scranton Prep's Luci Toczydlowski said. "We didn't have anyone last year, even a couple years before. So, this is a really big year for us."
Toczydlowski and Maddie McCullough of North Pocono will compete in the upcoming Level 10 Nationals in Arizona, alongside their teammate, Gianna Sabatini. The Abington Heights Comet wasn't in the gym the night we stopped in, but Newswatch 16 was there earlier this year, when she committed to Yale – a blueprint her younger teammates hope to replicate.
"A bunch of girls in the past have made it and they have all the colleges there and it's all the best gymnasts there," McCullough explained. "I'm just grateful that I can be part of the team and have such good friends."
Like McCullough, Gracyn Davis is also from North Pocono. She's competing in New York in the Level 9 competition, something she's calling a dream-come-true.
"I've been dreaming since I was little to compete at nationals with all these girls from all over the place, who are so good," Davis said. "So, I'm super excited to be able to be a part of the team."
The 5th gymnast competing at Nationals trains in the Scranton location. Holy Redeemer's Alyssa Daupert competes in trampoline and tumbling. That's an entirely separate competition, but for the Level 10 expert, this is her second straight year competing.
"It definitely means a lot," Daubert said. "I never thought when I started gymnastics that I would come this far. When you think of gymnastics, you think of beam and floor, but people don't really know what trampoline is. So, it's really fun. I like to be able to explain my sport, but people don't get it until they see it."
The national trampoline and tumbling competition is in Iowa. Five gymnasts, three locations – all competing under the one name: United Sports Academy.