Wooster freshman excels at state gymnastics

Wooster freshman McKinnley Hackett didn’t set a specific goal at the 54th annual OHSAA Gymnastics State Meet held at Hilliard Bradley March 7-8.

“I wasn't really concerned about scores,” Hackett said. “I was just going out there doing the best I could do. I gave it my all, and I'm proud of what I did.”

Hackett’s “best” wound up being the top performance in Wooster gymnastics history and second out of all the competitors at the state meet.

With a school-record score of 37.825, Hackett was the all-around state runner-up.

The incredible performance was keyed by a fourth on vault (9.575) and sixth on the floor (9.525). Her 9.525 bars score was actually second best, but because she hadn’t qualified in that event out of the district, she couldn’t place in it.

Kenston junior Sofia Macias won a repeat all-around title with a score of 38.000.

“It was crazy,” said Hackett, who bettered the previous program-best third-place state finish of Rachel Furlong at the 2020 state meet. “It was so loud and so fun.”

The OHSAA has only one division for gymnastics, which makes the performance even more impressive.

“Honestly, to make it to the state meet was my biggest goal,” Hackett said. “I was kind of in the mentality that I made it there, and that, in itself, was a big win. To place second was not on my bingo card.”

Hackett only placed ninth at the district meet, but she knew she didn’t perform her best. At the state meet, she was much more in control and even added a double backflip to her floor routine, which she successfully executed.

“I was pretty close to perfect for me,” she said. “My beam was a little wobbly, but I stuck most of my dismounts. I stuck the beam. I think I stuck all my floor passes, and I stuck bars.”

Hackett had an outstanding support system in place at Hilliard Bradley and throughout the season.

Wooster coach Megan Hackett, a 1999 WHS graduate and three-time state qualifier herself, is her mom, mentor and biggest fan.

“My mom and I work well together,” McKinnley Hackett said. “She knows my strengths and my weaknesses, and we kind of play off that. It’s been fun, but it can also be hard at times.”

Generals assistant coach Karen Goldsmith was invaluable in stepping in if things got tense between mother and daughter.

“It went really well all season, but here and there we would kind of have our moments,” Megan Hackett said. “Having an assistant coach who could step in and let me be Mom and she’d coach her or, vice versa, let me coach her was great. At times Karen would put her arm around her and say, ‘You got this.’”

Reggie Hackett, a former standout athlete and longtime youth coach, is Megan’s husband and McKinnley’s dad. He provides plenty of advice and is visible at many Wooster sporting events with his camera.

“Mindset was everything,” McKinnley Hackett said. “My dad kept telling me that someone has to win and to go out there and act like I belong. I knew that since I had qualified.”

Wooster junior Kassidy Kartisek was a state alternate and made the trip with the rest of the NEGC champion team to cheer for Hackett.

Hackett’s fan section also included many other family members including her great-grandmother and friends.

“My teammates all went down with me and spent the night in the same hotel,” McKinnley Hackett said. “They were so supportive, and it was great to see so many family and friends supporting me at the meet.”

McKinnley Hackett has already set her sights toward competing for the club team Powerhouse Gymnastics, based in Wadsworth.

The future couldn’t be brighter for Wooster’s freshman phenom, who also maintains a 3.8 GPA.

“The hours that she puts in and the hard work has gotten her to this point,” Megan Hackett said. “The focus on the details to stick landings, the pointed toes, straight legs and then the level of difficulty (she can perform) — she's got an array of skills that we can add at any time.”