Carson City's Ali Maschke earns top honors at regional gymnastics championships
Submitted by Carson Now Reader on Thu, 05/13/2021 - 5:05pm
What’s in a name? Well, if you’re a young and adoring gymnastic fan with dreams of grandeur, it might just be everything.
Such was the case for five-year old Ali Maschke in 2012 as she watched Team USA Gymnastics deliver a scintillating performance at the London Games where the Fierce Five of USA Women’s Gymnastics captured the team gold. However, it was one particular and very specific moment, orchestrated by a legend in the sport, that vaulted the Carson City resident into the sport and ultimately on the regional map for women’s gymnastics.
Regarded in gymnastics circles as one of the memorable performances in Olympic history, Five member Aly Raisman earned gold with her floor exercise routine at the London Games.
To the music of Israeli folk song Havah Nagilah, meaning “Let Us Rejoice,” Raisman indeed brought joy to the audience as she won individual gold, but she also broadcast joy through a television screen 5,282 miles away to a Pittsburg, California home where a wide-eyed young girl decided she wanted to be the next Aly.
“I was watching the 2012 Olympics, and I watched Aly Raisman (on her floor routine), and I thought it was cool because we have the same name, and I decided I wanted to be like that,” Maschke shared recently between classes at Sierra Lutheran High School following an impressive performance by her own team recently, and one dazzling individual performance of her own.
Late last month, Maschke and her teammates with the Silver State Gymnastics Academy of Carson City won the Xcel Nevada State Team Championship. At the Region 1 Regionals, regarded as the toughest of the eight regions in the United States Gymnastics Association, Silver State again took top honors over dozens of teams and hundreds of competitors across the West.
And like her namesake so many years before, Maschke took her own brand of gold, winning first place on floor at the Region 1 Regionals in the Platinum Division, which performs at the high level. But at the time, she wasn’t so sure it would be that kind of day.
“I didn’t think it would happen,” Maschke said. “It was my last event of the meet, and I put my all into it, and it worked out for the best.”
The Xcel Region I Championships generally produce some of the top gymnastic talent in the country, and Maschke’s coach, Dave Lester, said his protege is in that conversation.
“She has always been beautiful on the floor,” Lester commented. She has ridiculous flexibility and power. She was really up for the occasion, and she sold it. She had a gorgeous routine.”
Alongside the strong working relationship she has with her coach, she states that her relationship with her team is equally valuable, and inspiring, to her.
“It’s always been pretty fun (competing),” Maschke explained. “My team is my family. I’m really close to them. It’s great to have that relationship.”
Reserved when she’s not on the mat, Maschke’s recent success is part of a growing resume of accomplishments, including winning the State Championship on the beam two years ago. And with each new level of success, her self-confidence grows with it.
“I feel like I’ve had my doubts,” the angular 14 year old confessed. “But those moments make it seem worth it.”
The time investment to reach the top of the winner’s stand is paved with a rigorous training schedule that is 20 hours, or more, per week. And it’s not just the amount of time but the intensity that goes along with it.
“What you’re asking these kids to do is not natural,” Lester explained. “Ali is very courageous, and that she shows up every day to do something this difficult is what impresses me the most.”
In her own polite way, Maschke affirms the road to the top in gymnastics is not for the faint of heart.
“I feel like people sometimes think it’s easy,” Maschke shared. “It looks easy, but there’s a lot to it. Everything is based on performance, so you need to be strong enough, flexible, and mentally strong.”
As she resumes her training regime, with the meet season starting up again in December, the current focus is on new skills and new routines, but Maschke is far-sighted enough to dual track a longer term vision that includes life after gymnastics, whenever that day comes.
“I’m not really sure,” Maschke said when asked about her future. “I’d like to be involved (as a competitor), but I'm looking at becoming a sports physical therapist. This way I can possibly be involved with the sport when I’m done.”
Either way, Ali Maschke is making a name for herself.
