LAKEWOOD — Lakewood senior Izzy Gee made sure she hugged every teammate after each of their floor routines during the triangular Sept. 28 at Lakewood High School.
“Izzy is just the heart and soul of Lakewood gymnastics,” Lakewood coach Christine Kamin said of the defending Class 5A all-around state champion. “She just loves her team. She celebrates their successes a million times more than her successes. She is a very humble champion, but the first to jump on a mat if someone else sticks their routine to give them a big hug.”
All eyes were on Gee as she was the last Tiger to preform on the floor to finish off the meet. All Evergreen and Green Mountain gymnasts grabbed a front row seat to watch Gee score 9.45.
While Gee is coming off winning the 5A all-around and bars individual title last year, this Fall hasn’t been easy as she attempts to defend her titles.
“The season has been a bit harder for me,” Gee admitted before the triangular meet Sept. 28. “I’ve had to deal with some injuries. I do have lots of pressure on me.”
Gee has an extremely busy schedule. Along with high school gymnastics she is doing club gymnastics along with competitive cheer this Fall season. Still, Gee has high hopes individually and team wise after Lakewood took home the 5A team state runner-up trophy last November.
“For me I’m trying to do as well as I did last year,” Gee said. “Since it’s my senior year I’m trying to work a little harder for myself. The team goal is really important for us. We really want to take first in the state this year. I think it’s a reasonable goal.”
Junior Lauren Burt made a huge impact last season in her first year competing at the high school level. Burt finished fourth in the all-around and won the beam title. Lakewood scored 183.675 team points to finish second behind Broomfield (184.700 points).
“It’s definitely a lot of motivation,” Burt said having the defending 5A all-around champ as a teammate. “I definitely looked up to her after she won state last year. It’s something I would like to accomplish.”
Burt got off to an incredible start to the season with three all-around scores above 37 points.
“I was definitely surprised with my performance so early in the season,” Burt said. “I’m really happy with what I put out there. I think I can only grow from here on out.”
It has been a benefit to Gee with Burt’s breakout performance at state and her solid start to the season.
“Lauren and I are really good friends,” Gee said. “It’s really nice to have someone on the team that I respect as a gymnast and who definitely helps to push myself.”
Lakewood’s success includes Amber Boll winning the 5A all-around and all individual events back in 2018.
“Our goals are always about growth. If we grow as much as we want to grow the results will be there,” Kamin said. “Our athletic director (Michael Hughes) has done a great job of promoting our accomplishments and celebrating our success as a team. The pressure is there.”
Lakewood will host its “Think Pink Invitational” on Saturday, Oct. 1, at Lakewood High School. The meet honors Mary Beth Artemis, former Lakewood gymnastics coach and breast cancer survivor. All meet entry fees go directly to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.