Kohlmaier Calls Scout Gymnastics Success Her Biggest Thrill

Winning a national team championship last month was a highlight of gymnast career, but it takes a back seat to being part of Lake Forest High School’s second-place finish at the state meet in February. 

An integral part of the Scouts’ gymnastics success the last four years, Kohlmaier was one of 10 senior gymnasts in the state selected for Team Illinois by the Illinois High School Girls Gymnastics Coach’s Association (IHSGGCA) to compete for the national team championship.

“I was really excited to have an opportunity for one more meet,” Kohlmaier said when she learned she was invited to join the team a month after the Scouts' most successful season ever. “I was excited to see what I could do at that level.” 

She placed 12th on vault to help Team Illinois wear the national crown. Kohlmaier was one of 15 preliminary qualifiers on May 21 to advance to the next day’s finals. 

“I’ve never made it to the finals before,” Kohlmaier said.

She did qualify as an individual for the.

As exciting as being part of a national title team was to her, Kohlmaier barely hesitated when asked to compare it to being part of the Scouts' showing at the state meet on Feb. 19. 

. Nothing could be better than that,” she said. “We’ve been through so much. They’re my best friends,” she added, talking about her Lake Forest teammates. 

Kohlmaier began competitive gymnastics at 9 years old and demonstrated success from the start. By the time she was a freshman at Lake Forest High School, she was ready to stop. That changed when her physical education teacher that year was head gymnastics coach . 

“She knew I did gymnastics and told me I would meet new people and have new experiences,” Kohlmaier said. “I really liked being part of the team.” 

One of only five members on the Scout varsity that year, Kohlmaier recalls the school was completing its new athletic wing and had no home meets.

“Everything was on the road that year,” Straus said. “We got on a bus after school and went to the Spot (in Mundelein) to practice."

Lake Forest did not advance past Regional competition that year. 

Between the end of her freshman season and the start of the sophomore year, Straus and Kohlmaier set goals. Kohlmaier went to work in the gym. 

“Grace saw what she needed to do and she did it. She went from 7s to 9s,” described Straus of Kohlmaier’s scores from a varsity caliber freshman to a sophomore with state qualifier potential.

Kohlmaier's emerging talent coincided with a team taking on a new look by her sophomore year.

“The came and Katie Maier,” Kohlmaier said. “We had new people and new talent.”

Kohlmaier was a team leader by then, qualifying for state along with Ofelia Carmichael. 

After tasting the state meet, the Scouts became hungry for more. Kohlmaier was heavily in the mix along with the Carmichaels, Maier and . Freshman , who quickly became a team stalwart, joined them. 

“After two of us made it to state, we really wanted it,” Kohlmaier said. “We really worked hard that summer (2009).”

The highlight of her junior season was the team’s eighth-place finish at the state meet, but something else more important happened along the way. 

Between Kohlmaier’s freshman season and the eighth-place finish in 2010, the Scouts became much more than teammates for her.

“When you are with everyone who is supporting you, it’s a family,” Kohlmaier said. “It’s so nice to have everyone with you.”

“We had been there and we knew we could do better,” Kohlmaier said of her senior season. “I got new floor and vault skills to work on. We wanted to make the top three.”

Kohlmaier will enroll at the University of Missouri in August to study nursing. Gymnastics is not in her plans as she switches focus to her studies and may rush a sorority. 

“I’ve been doing it (gymnastics) so long, I love it and I’m going to miss it,” Kohlmaier said. “There’s a gym at Missouri. I’ll probably work out. Maybe I’ll go out for the team eventually.” 

That was her plan as a freshman in high school. She just smiled when asked whether history could repeat itself. She did not rule out coaching.

“That’s something we talked about,” Kohlmaier said, referring to a discussion she had with her mother. “It's an option.”

Straus would not be surprised. “She loves being in the gym,” Straus said. “She’s good with little kids.”