OLATHE — For one last time, the mats will be rolled out, the vaults set up and the chalk clouds will rise. 

On Saturday morning at Olathe East High School, the final Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) Girls Gymnastics Championship will begin at 10 a.m. — marking the end of a 52-year era for the sport in Kansas. 

After this weekend, gymnastics will no longer be a KSHSAA-sanctioned sport. The decision to sunset the program was made last spring after schools in the Sunflower League decided not to continue, leaving only Newton and Emporia. With so few teams remaining, KSHSAA could no longer sustain competition. 

“It is always difficult to see a KSHSAA-sanctioned sport come to an end,” said Sarah Smith, KSHSAA assistant executive director. “Participation numbers have been in steady decline since the early 1990s, with just over 60 athletes competing statewide in recent years. Ultimately, member schools made the difficult choice to sunset the program. 

“While it is never easy to see a program end, we remain deeply proud of the legacy and achievements of girls’ gymnastics in Kansas,” Smith added. “We look forward to celebrating that history and honoring the talented gymnasts who have represented their schools with dedication and grace.” 
 

One final performance 

Saturday’s state meet will be both a competition and a farewell celebration. 

Olathe North will chase its fifth straight state championship — a streak that would break the state record. The Eagles edged Shawnee Mission East for the Sunflower League title earlier this month and have been the dominant force in Kansas gymnastics for the past half decade. 

“This season has definitely been emotional with gymnastics ending,” said Olathe North junior Ariana Easter. “But it’s also been a growing experience for all of us. We’ve come together to help each other make this the best year yet.” 

Easter, who has competed in gymnastics for more than 12 years, said it still doesn’t feel real that this will be her last meet. 

“I was in denial,” she said. “It was kind of like the five stages of grief. I just didn’t believe it when I first found out this was going to be the last year. Gymnastics has been all I’ve really known. I would leave school early for this sport. I would stop hanging out with friends if I had practice. 

“For it to just end after so many years, you don’t really think it will happen. It won’t hit me until state — my very last landing and salute. Then I’ll just be done. It will be very hard and emotional.” 

Despite the bittersweet ending, Easter said she and her teammates are determined to finish strong. 

“It would mean so much to have that streak all to ourselves,” she said. “Not just for us, but for our name, our teammates, our coaches — for our program as a whole. I think all that hard work is going to pay off in the end.” 
 

‘Just a lot of mixed emotions’ 

Few gymnasts in the state have embodied the spirit of Kansas high school gymnastics like Olathe Northwest junior Sophia Beaumont. The defending all-around champion scored two perfect 10s last year — one on vault, one on beam — and enters Saturday’s meet as a favorite to repeat. 

But even for one of the state’s best, the moment carries heavy emotion. 

“I have a lot of emotions,” Beaumont said. “I’m obviously excited because I love competing and I love the atmosphere of high school gymnastics. But I’m also dreading it because I know it will be my last time ever, and I’m really emotional about that. Just a lot of mixed emotions.” 

Beaumont, who grew up in a gymnastics family and once competed at the elite level, said joining her high school team changed her relationship with the sport. 

“I’ve been in gymnastics my whole life — my mom and grandma owned a gym together, so I grew up in it,” she said. “I obviously loved club gymnastics and made some of my best friends there, but high school gymnastics has been more caring and positive. It helped me get my love for the sport back.” 

In her final meet, Beaumont hopes to complete her own career grand slam. 

“I want to get another 10 on floor,” she said. “That’s the only one I haven’t hit yet in my career. I’ve been working on bigger, higher skills because if I can’t top the score, I can make the routine better overall. 

“I think three meets ago is when it finally hit me that I’m toward the end of my career,” she added. “From then, it’s been complete sadness and a lot of really big emotions. I don’t really know where to go from here — gymnastics is part of who I am. I just want to stay in the gym, keep practicing, and see where it takes me.” 

A coach’s perspective 

Olathe head coach Amanda Harrington, who has led the district’s program for six years, has guided her gymnasts through the emotional ups and downs of this final season. 

“The girls have really bought in that it’s the end and they want to go out with a bang,” Harrington said. “Sometimes it’s hard to manage emotions when you’re on a 4-inch beam, three feet in the air and trying to fight back tears, but they’ve worked hard and have not taken anything for granted.” 
 

She admits that keeping the focus on joy — rather than loss — has been her biggest goal. 

“At first I was super upset for myself, and then I was upset for the girls,” she said. “But then I flipped a switch. I told them to embrace everything this season — to live in the moment, to have fun, to go out with joy. 

“It hasn’t really hit some of them until recently. At our last league meet, you could tell it finally sank in — that this was it. We even had tears in practice this week because it was our last Monday in the gym together. You always have those emotions at the end of a season, but they’re just heightened this year.” 

As for Saturday’s goal? Harrington keeps it simple. 

“Winning another state title is very important to them,” she said. “We have just been embracing having fun and leaving everything we have out on the mat. That is hard thing to balance, but the girls have done a really good job of it.” 
 

End of an era 

Girls gymnastics became a KSHSAA-sanctioned sport in 1974, when Wichita South won the first state title and Donna Armstrong was crowned the inaugural all-around champion. Wichita South won four straight (1974–77), and Kapaun Mt. Carmel matched that feat from 1979 to 1982. 

Lawrence (2004-06) won three titles in a row, while Olathe East has won nine overall titles over the span of 51 years — the most of any program in the state. Shawnee Mission Northwest is close behind with eight.  

For John Comstock, longtime KSHSAA rules interpreter and judge, Saturday’s meet will mark the close of a lifetime passion. 

“The biggest thing I will miss is the athletes themselves,” Comstock said. “Over the years I have seen different skill levels at different times, but the thing I always saw and appreciated was the competitive drive these girls have had, the sportsmanship they have always shown and the friendships they have for one another.  Kansas high school gymnastics is like one big family caring about each other.   

“It will be hard to forget so many trials and tribulations these girls have performed in front of the judges.  I will not forget such things as a special smile or wave to me when doing a floor routine or a gymnast hitting a landing on a vault for the first time.  It was always a joy to see the excitement in their faces when they achieved a goal. So, the one thing I will miss is the gymnasts — these girls over the years that kept me judging and I thank them all.” 

The last salute 

As the sport takes its final bow, emotions will run high. For the gymnasts, this meet represents more than medals and scores — it’s a celebration of who they’ve become through the sport. 

“I know it will hit me when I’m out there for the last time,” Easter said. “That last salute — it’ll be hard. But I want to walk away knowing I gave everything I had.” 

Beaumont feels the same. 

“My best friends come from this team, no matter what school they’re from,” she said. “Even though we aren’t all on the same team, I still consider us one big family. That’s what I’ll miss the most.” 

And for Harrington, who will set up the equipment for one last championship, Saturday will be a day to savor. 

“When I see that state gym set up for the last time, I know that’s when my emotions will hit,” she said. “It’s going to be really hard, but my goal is to keep it together for the girls.” 

When the final routine ends Saturday and the final salute is given, Kansas high school gymnastics will take its last bow. The banners will stay hanging, the memories will linger, and the friendships — forged through years of shared chalk and tears — will endure long after the lights dim at Olathe East. 

“We just want to perform for ourselves,” Easter said. “Obviously, we want that state title, but that is not the only important thing. I might not see some of these gymnasts and coaches after this. We just need to perform well for ourselves, our team and Olathe gymnastics and I don’t want any of us to walk out of that gym wishing they could have done more.”