Freshman Molly Stack will be making De Soto High School history this Saturday as the first gymnast representing DHS at a State competition.

Stack has been participating in gymnastics for 11 years. She became competitive about it, however, when she was around 9 years old. Her practice regimen for high school is rigorous, with practice being every day from 3:15 to 5:45.

Stack’s practice has paid off with some successful results in her first season as a high school student.

“[My success] depends,” Stack said. “With the first couple [of meets], they were smaller, so I was doing better.”

As the meets got larger, the competition became tougher, but Stack ended up qualifying for the State competition.

To succeed in State this year, Stack says she needs to focus on beam, which is the event she struggles the most with.

“I need to stay on the beam,” Stack said. “That’s my biggest problem right now.”

Stack’s club team is Pinnacle, but she competes with Shawnee Mission Northwest during the regular high school season. However, since she qualified for State, she will be representing DHS alone.

“It’s really nerve-racking, because I’ve competed as a Northwest gymnast all season until State,” Stack said.

The State competition takes place at Olathe East High School this Saturday at 11 am.