Wednesday, March 29, 2023 /
/ Women’s Month — 5
For senior gymnast Gabby Wilson,
attending Michigan was just a matter of
when.
Born in Ann Arbor and raised in
Ypsilanti, the University has always been
on Wilson’s radar athletically and aca-
demically.
The athlete gene runs in the family.
Her parents were All-Americans on the
track and field teams of Illinois and East-
ern Michigan. Her younger sister runs on
the track and field team at Michigan State,
just like her parents.
And while Wilson has stayed true
to her family’s roots by competing athleti-
cally for Michigan, she’s also put her own
spin on that tradition.
“Growing up, we all were trying
different sports, but I only did gymnas-
tics mostly,” Wilson said. “We’ve always
been a really active family, even before we
did sports, and we’ve always had a love for
physical activity in general.”
As a young athlete, Wilson looked
up to her educators and outstanding
Black gymnasts like three-time Olympic
gold medalist Gabby Douglas.
“Of course, when I saw Gabby
Douglas win (the Olympics), it was really
cool that people were kind of making that
comparison,” Wilson said. “And it wasn’t
necessarily me thinking ‘because she won
the Olympics, I can win the Olympics and
do that.’ But it just made me feel like there
was no reason why I couldn’t do anything
that I set my mind to.”
So, Wilson did just that.
Her commitment and prodigy
earned her recruiting letters starting at
just age 13 from interested programs, but
Wilson was still unsure on what to look
for in her future home. This was before
the NCAA adopted its new rule in 2019 to
push athlete recruiting to after their soph-
omore year of high school. With the help
of her parents, she was able to prioritize
her academic and athletic goals before
making a final decision.
“I was really just trying to think of
which school had the most opportunities
for me, athletically, and academically, and
Michigan just happened to be down the
street,” Wilson said. “So it was really a
no-brainer, I only visited Michigan and
Oklahoma.”
Nine years later, Wilson is a team
captain and key contributor to the wom-
en’s gymnastics team. In her freshman
year, she was ranked in the top 50 nation-
ally on vault and floor. Now in her senior
year, she’s since continued to rack up
numerous accolades including multiple
All-American honors, a team National
Championship and three career 10.0s
on floor and vault. In addition, her per-
formances on floor and vault aided the
Wolverines’ consecutive Big Ten cham-
pionship wins, earning the individual
vault title in 2023.
Wilson’s continued success and
unique floor performance stems from
her musicality and storytelling, which she
credits to her family.
“Ever since level seven, where we
get to have our own routines on the floor,
I’ve always loved being able to perform it
to the best of my ability and really use it
to show my personality,” Wilson said. “I
would say that my college years have been
the most impactful in terms of my full
routines. I’ve actually been able to tell a
story and show what I’m passionate about
through my dance, my music choice and
the choreography.”
For Wilson, music evokes emo-
tions that allow her to express her person-
ality and passion for the sport. With her
impressive dancing and overall floor exe-
cution, she boasts a season floor average
of 9.900. She also attributes her passion
and success on the floor to assistant coach
Maile’ana Kanewa-Hermelyn, Michigan’s
floor choreographer.
“I’ve cherished my time being
coached to hone in on what I wanted peo-
ple to think about when I was performing,
and just see that I love being out there,”
Wilson said. “I want people to know just
from watching me that this is what I love
to do and I’m doing it for my team. I love
my sport.”
Although she’s in her senior sea-
son, this isn’t the end for Wilson. She
recently announced that she will return
for a fifth season and obtain a master’s in
public policy through the Ford School.
“After COVID, we knew that we
had an extra year of eligibility and I want-
ed to be intentional about what that meant
for me, and what that meant for my aca-
demic goals first, and then thinking about
athletic opportunities,” Wilson said.
“After the fact, I never wanted to really go
anywhere besides Michigan.”
As the Wolverines continue to face
tough competition, Wilson’s decision to
stay home again will be beneficial as her
passion, roots and creativity flourish in
her performance. Because just like when
she first committed to Michigan, those
are the elements that drive her.
How sticking to her roots led
Gabby Wilson to success
KENDALL MCCASKILL
Daily Sports Writer
LILA TURNER/Daily