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Jan. 2—MITCHELL — For a high school senior, Kyanna Gropper has had a life dedicated to gymnastics.
All of her dedication and effort is apparent for the Mitchell High School team this season, in which she's leading the way for a Kernel squad that has eyes on a strong finish once again.
Entering January, Gropper ranks in the state's top-three in each of the five scoring disciplines in gymnastics. That includes leading the state with the top vault score of the year at 9.625 and tying for the state lead on balance beam at 9.700 points. She has the second-best all-around score this season in the state at 38.200, two-tenths of a point behind Harrisburg senior standout Katelyn Maeschen, who leads the event categories that Gropper does not.
The 2024-25 season was one where Gropper was coming off a serious knee injury that limited her sophomore year. It was an individual season almost everyone else in South Dakota high school gymnastics would have signed up for, finishing third on uneven bars and sixth in the all-around scoring at the Class AA state meet.
Mitchell coach Audra Rew said the difference between then and now is apparent to anyone who attends a Kernel competition. Mitchell is home again on Saturday, Jan. 3, hosting the four Sioux Falls public high schools and Watertown meet. That's the last regular-season home meet for MHS, which is also hosting the state high school championships on Feb. 13-14.
"She's always been extremely talented and I think last year she found herself second-guessing a little bit, which can happen after an injury," Rew said following Mitchell's Jill McCormick Invitational on Dec. 20. "Now it's like nothing. You see that the way she's vaulting now. It's what I've been waiting for and she didn't think anything of it."
Gropper has used the vault event as a showcase this season. Her season-best in 2024-25 was a 9.500, and she's already surpassed that score twice, including a 9.625 to win the McCormick Invitational. She has 11 individual victories already this season, including three each on vault and beam, plus a pair of all-around titles in Mitchell's four competitions so far this season.
"I definitely feel a lot more confident than I did last year," Gropper said. "I just feel a lot more powerful and aggressive and vault is an event where you can really show that."
She added that she personally believes the team is operating with a calm presence, one that limits the pressure the Kernels feel.
"I feel like we know what we need to work on," Gropper said. "Now it's about perfecting it and getting everything nice and cleaned up in our routines for the end of the year."
The calm feeling comes from Gropper herself, coach Rew said.
"There's a lot of pressure on our top athletes. They have to do all four events and they're focused on that," Rew said. "Not only do they have the pressure of worrying about themselves and how they're competing, but sometimes they worry about giving others on the team a pep talk. And for our older gymnasts, it's just quiet leadership by what they do. Sometimes as a coach, that's all you have to say. 'Do what they do and watch them get their work done.' They learn a lot by watching Kyanna and how she competes and that's a better example than anything you can say."
As a team, Gropper said this year's squad has a new dynamic with so many athletes taking on larger roles for MHS, but it's a challenge she said she believes the team embraces.
"It's different from where we've been but there's room for us to improve and we're getting there," Gropper said. "It's a new experience for so many of the girls on our team."
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All of her dedication and effort is apparent for the Mitchell High School team this season, in which she's leading the way for a Kernel squad that has eyes on a strong finish once again.
Entering January, Gropper ranks in the state's top-three in each of the five scoring disciplines in gymnastics. That includes leading the state with the top vault score of the year at 9.625 and tying for the state lead on balance beam at 9.700 points. She has the second-best all-around score this season in the state at 38.200, two-tenths of a point behind Harrisburg senior standout Katelyn Maeschen, who leads the event categories that Gropper does not.
The 2024-25 season was one where Gropper was coming off a serious knee injury that limited her sophomore year. It was an individual season almost everyone else in South Dakota high school gymnastics would have signed up for, finishing third on uneven bars and sixth in the all-around scoring at the Class AA state meet.
Mitchell coach Audra Rew said the difference between then and now is apparent to anyone who attends a Kernel competition. Mitchell is home again on Saturday, Jan. 3, hosting the four Sioux Falls public high schools and Watertown meet. That's the last regular-season home meet for MHS, which is also hosting the state high school championships on Feb. 13-14.
"She's always been extremely talented and I think last year she found herself second-guessing a little bit, which can happen after an injury," Rew said following Mitchell's Jill McCormick Invitational on Dec. 20. "Now it's like nothing. You see that the way she's vaulting now. It's what I've been waiting for and she didn't think anything of it."
Gropper has used the vault event as a showcase this season. Her season-best in 2024-25 was a 9.500, and she's already surpassed that score twice, including a 9.625 to win the McCormick Invitational. She has 11 individual victories already this season, including three each on vault and beam, plus a pair of all-around titles in Mitchell's four competitions so far this season.
"I definitely feel a lot more confident than I did last year," Gropper said. "I just feel a lot more powerful and aggressive and vault is an event where you can really show that."
She added that she personally believes the team is operating with a calm presence, one that limits the pressure the Kernels feel.
"I feel like we know what we need to work on," Gropper said. "Now it's about perfecting it and getting everything nice and cleaned up in our routines for the end of the year."
The calm feeling comes from Gropper herself, coach Rew said.
"There's a lot of pressure on our top athletes. They have to do all four events and they're focused on that," Rew said. "Not only do they have the pressure of worrying about themselves and how they're competing, but sometimes they worry about giving others on the team a pep talk. And for our older gymnasts, it's just quiet leadership by what they do. Sometimes as a coach, that's all you have to say. 'Do what they do and watch them get their work done.' They learn a lot by watching Kyanna and how she competes and that's a better example than anything you can say."
As a team, Gropper said this year's squad has a new dynamic with so many athletes taking on larger roles for MHS, but it's a challenge she said she believes the team embraces.
"It's different from where we've been but there's room for us to improve and we're getting there," Gropper said. "It's a new experience for so many of the girls on our team."
Continue reading...
