Gymnastics juniors leads Park

During the team's Class 2A third-place finish in last spring's state gymnastics meet, Park High School of Cottage Grove boasted both the second- and third-place finishers in the individual all-round portion.

Those girls -- Kasondra Tulloch and Rachel Deephouse -- were only sophomores.

"From a coaching standpoint, it's one of those deals where you feel very, very fortunate that maybe in a person's career they come across a kid of this caliber, let alone having multiple ones at the same time," said Mark Sikich, the Wolfpack's longtime coach.

While both are outstanding in the gym, their personalities are far apart.

"Kasondra is so soft spoken," Sikich said. "That's her personality. She's a sponge. She listens to everything and does what you ask her to do and she's great.

"Rachel is a hundred miles an hour with her hair on fire. Dealing with the two of them is contrasting, but it's also a blast. It's just so much fun."

Both Tulloch and Deephouse performed at their highest levels at the University of Minnesota Sports Pavilion last February. Tulloch was runner-up in the uneven bars while Deephouse matched that finish on balance beam. Tulloch posted an all-around score of 38.375, while Deephouse totaled 38.300.

Deephouse already has posted a 9.550 in the floor exercise this winter, a high number so early in the season. While the balance beam is not her favorite event, she led the state meet until the last competitor overtook her. Deephouse also is a maniac on the bars.

"She's so tough," Sikich said. "She's a free-spirited girl that likes to just fly on bars."

And then comes Tulloch.

"Kasondra is just a beast," Sikich said. "There are kids that you see that are just physical specimens. She is so strong. She just gets after it."

Tulloch opened the season by surpassing 37 in the all-around at the Stillwater meet. Last week, in the season's second meet, she already was approaching 38 "and that is crazy," Sikich said.

"I just like swinging on bars," said Tulloch, whose mother competed for the University of Wisconsin-Stout gymnastics team. "It's fun for me."

Tulloch already has scored 9.55 on bars. Her goal is to return to state and claim the championship in that event, while gaining new skills in all her events along the way.

The Wolfpack had no one with state meet experience at last February's meet, yet its young stars peaked and came within .6 points of the team crown.

"Having the big crowd cheering for you was exciting -- I don't think about getting nervous," Tulloch said. "I just avoid that because that will only mess you up. I just try to relax. I get in the zone and think about my skills and not what's surrounding me."

These standout gymnasts and their teammates are dealing with some injuries at the moment, but watch out for them down the stretch.