Elyse Wenner participated in a Special Olympics showcase at the Parkettes National Training Center, working with her Stallone Gymnastics colleagues.
“I’ve been working with the Special Olympians for many years,” Wenner said. “It’s always great to see their smiles and how happy they are to compete. It’s always a lot of fun.”
Fun is the operative word these days for the Parkland High School junior who committed to continue her gymnastics career at newly crowned NCAA champion LSU beginning in the fall of 2025.
Wenner said that staying calm and having fun have been the keys for her.
At the recent Mid-Atlantic regionals at Penn State, the staying calm approach produced fantastic scores for Wenner. She recorded an all-around score of 39.175, a total that makes her a top contender this weekend at the USA Gymnastics Men’s and Women’s Development Championships at the Volusia County Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. National titles are on the line for top gymnasts in Level 10.
The 2024 Women’s Development Program’s national team will be determined and athletes in six senior age-groups will compete for titles in their divisions with Wenner competing in the highly competitive Senior B division. A record number of five gymnasts qualified in Senior B with all-around scores of 39 points or higher. Along with Wenner, Penn State commit Ava Cash, Utah recruit Bailey Stroud, Washington-bound Sophie Schriever and Kamila Pawlak (Oklahoma) all posted scores of higher than 39.0 and three others — Scarlett Sonnenberg (BYU), Ella Murphy (Oklahoma) and Autumn Reinhold were in the high 38s.
“It’s going to be very competitive,” Wenner said. “But I’m excited for the challenge. I was injured and didn’t have a great meet at the national championships last year, so I am hoping to do much better this year.”
Her Stallone Gymnastics coach, Marty Amrich, is optimistic that Wenner will have a successful weekend.
“She is having a phenomenal season and right now in the United States, Elyse ranks in the top 100 in three events and the all-around and she posted some of the highest all-around scores in the country,” Amrich said. “College Gym News just did an article and she is mentioned several times in the article. She was mentioned as one of the faces to watch at this weekend’s competition.”
Armich, whose wife, Gina Stallone Amrich, was a three-time USA National team member in the early 1980s and a college star at the University of Florida, has been one of Wenner’s biggest supporters. He sees a more confident gymnast who is better equipped for challenges and adversity.
“Elyse is a good kid who competes well,” he said. “She has been very confident this year in her competitions and I think that’s the sign of maturity. Hopefully, she stays calm and has a fun experience.”
Staying calm and having fun is what Amrich said Stallone Gymnastics, located in Fleetwood, tries to emphasize with everyone.
“I was just interviewed by College Gym News about recruiting and one of the things I talked about was keeping things in perspective and keeping a balance,” Amrich said. “You have to realize this is a sport and it’s important to keep your priorities straight. The kids should enjoy the experience and I think the Nevada coach mentioned that when you’re older and have kids and a family of your own, you’re not going to remember what you scored on the balance beam. You’re going to remember the experience and the trip and the friendships and all of that. We don’t want to let the moment get too big and Elyse has been pretty good at this year.”
Wenner’s performance at regionals was very impressive, Amrich said.
“She swept all of the events and that’s extremely unusual,” he said. “She was just on. Everything was clicking for her. I think she had a personal best in vaulting and in the all-around. Her all-around score was one of the top-25 in the country. It was a good day for her to have a good day and she did.”
At Daytona, Wenner will see a few of her future teammates at LSU and many others who will be competing against her at the collegiate level in the coming years. She is not necessarily looking for redemption after last year, but a much better showing on the biggest stage in USA Gymnastics.
“She had a mishap on an event and it took her out of the all-around and I wouldn’t call it disappointing, but it wasn’t the performance she wanted,” he said. “She landed awkwardly on a vault and it hurt the back of her knee. It was the last event and she finished the competition. She may be looking at redemption, but you want to make sure you’re focused on doing your routines and staying calm and relaxed. You have to focus on the process and not the results.”
Wenner said she was thrilled that LSU won the national title for the first time in program history and LSU will be watching and rooting for Wenner this weekend.
“Elyse has had a remarkable season and that’s what LSU was looking for,” Amrich said. “They like Elyse and love her gymnastics and they’re so happy for her. I got a text from the LSU coach that said ‘Go Elyse.’
“But she can’t think about that. She just needs to go out there and do her job and what she’s capable of doing. If she does that, she’s going to be very successful.”
