Triway gymnast Gabby Mullen heads to state

It’s been 23 years since Triway gymnastics has had a gymnast qualify for state. Back then, it was Kelli Rumbaugh, who posted an 8.825 on the vault. Fast forward to March 8, it’s Gabby Mullen. The junior will touch the beam sometime after 11 a.m. at Hilliard Bradley High School, and when she does, it will snap that drought. What happens next will all be decided within about 45 seconds and through the relaxed mind of Mullen, who is carrying a whole head of steam to Columbus.

“I just want to relax, stay calm, have fun and not worry about the pressure,” said Mullen. “Just know that I’ve put in the practice, trust my body and do it one more time.”

After posting an impressive 9.525 on the beam for second at districts, one could say, how do you top that? For Mullen, it’s about the routine, final tweaks and doing something that she’s done since she was 2 to 3 years old in progressive gymnastics. Earning a spot on the YMCA gymnastics team at the age of 7, Mullen just naturally felt drawn to the beam, a four-inch-wide and five-meter-long apparatus.

“It was just an event that has always been easy for me,” she said. “The artistic piece and having that balance is something that’s always just come naturally to me.”

A year ago, Mullen came up just short at districts, finishing 17th, where the top 12 advanced. For her, it proved to only be a motivator as she chased one dream — state.

“It was one of my goals since I started high school,” said Mullen. “I definitely wanted to make it before I graduated.”

Her mother, Angie Mullen, who is also her varsity coach, talked about something her daughter said to her about her dream that hit home for her.

“She said, ‘We practice here at the gymnastics center, not at the school. We don’t have a fan base besides the parents who show up. We’re one of the forgotten sports. I want it to be known that we’re good, so if I go to state, then they know we’re legit and that we’re good. I just want to make sure that everyone knows about gymnastics and we’re part of Triway athletics as well,’” Angie said.

It’s been a motivator, and that afternoon, when she saw her daughter fall short, Angie talked to her about a plan. It was time to hit the gym again, put in more hard work, shift a few things, learn some new stuff, enhance her skill set, learn tougher routines, make them cleaner and then come back stronger and better.

One of the things that Angie saw that needed to continue to improve with Gabby was being mentally tough. It was something that together they worked on; they focused on the ability to forget, to move on and to compartmentalize. It was something that would bring mother and daughter even closer. With it, it would make this year's district competition that much sweeter for the two of them.

After a mishap on the bars and the beam next, Angie saw months of hard work pay off.

“She had to get mentally tougher and not get down on herself so much,” said her mother. “We saw that mental toughness show itself at districts. After that mishap, she could’ve easily given up, but she was there for the beam. That’s her specialty event.

“I told her, ‘You came here for the beam. You’re going to be really upset with yourself if you don’t put your heart into it. Forget what happened on bars, let’s go beam.’”

What transpired next was a routine that left very little to the imagination; if it wasn’t perfect, it was pretty darn close. Scoring a 9.525, Gabby earned a second-place finish and a moment she and her mom won’t forget.

“I was so shocked,” said Gabby. “I looked at the screen, saw my score and I honestly couldn’t believe it.”

“Everything,” added Angie. “I felt the instant tears come to my eyes. When I saw that score, I was like, ‘If she isn’t going to state with that score, there is nothing more that we can do.’ We did our best. She put up the best routine that she’s ever done, and that is all you can be proud of. Seeing that, we were just like, oh — she just did it.

“I am beyond proud of her. Her goal has been this for so long, and our goal has been to represent Triway well.”

When it becomes official, and Gabby steps to the beam at state, the drought officially ends, and one dream can finally be chalked off the board.

“It means a lot, it really does,” said the junior. “I am really proud that I can represent my school and go to state.”

Now it’s one more routine, one more time to do something that she spent countless hours working on.

“When I step up there, I am just going to be thinking, ‘One more time. I’ve done this so many times. I can do it again, and this will be the last time for this season.’”

If the nerves do come up, she just has to look to see Mom or assistant coach Jess Darling, both of whom are calming factors for Gabby.

“I just want her to have fun, relax and trust your body,” said Angie. “Darling has coached Gabby since she was little. She knows exactly what to say, what to do, how to motivate her, and we both just want her to have fun. She’s trained for this. You get one shot at perfection, two minutes to warm up and about 45 seconds to do your thing. You just have to let your body do what it’s been trained to do and just have fun.”