Niwot's Mia Curry sets sights on another Class 4A championship

Niwot gymnast Mia Curry admitted that winning a third straight Class 4A all-around title is in the "back of her mind," but there's another piece of hardware that she'd rather have at the end of her senior season: the 2021 team championship trophy.

"Right now, my only goal is to help my team get the state win, because I think that would be the best way that I could finish my high school career," she said after Niwot's triangular meet against Fort Morgan and Lone Star on Sept. 8. "I just want to help everybody on the team succeed and see everybody win, because it's a lot more fulfilling to do it as a team, because you have everybody to celebrate with."

After three convincing wins in its first three meets, Niwot seems to be on track for that group celebration. It also seems likely that Curry will be celebrating another individual title in 2021, if her performance against Fort Morgan and Lone Star is any indication. With 37.05 points, the senior easily won the all-around competition, and her 9.6 in the floor exercise is now the leading score in Class 4A so far this season.

Fortunately, Curry will be working with a strong supporting cast on her quest to bring the Class 4A championship back to Niwot. All of last year's state qualifiers have returned in 2021, and the team has also doubled in size, to 21 gymnasts. While that means more work for sixth-year head coach Marisa Purcell, it also means that the team will have that all important depth as it vies for its seventh state title.

"Any time there's an Olympic year, you tend to see more girls coming out," Purcell said of her growing team. "It helps to be able to have 21 girls, because then you always have more of them working on skills and jumps and just getting things. And so you do have a higher chance of being able to mix in new people, and give a break to those girls that need a break."

Joining Curry on the 2021 varsity roster are senior Olivia Sroka, another three-time state qualifier, as well as juniors Ava Silverstein, Madison Sloane, and Arabella Chen, and sophomore Grayce Gutierrez. At Niwot's tri-meet, Silverstein finished second in the all-around standings, with 33.600 points, while Gutierrez tied for third (33.400), and Chen was fifth (32.850). Sroka finished third overall in both the floor and balance beam events.

New to the Niwot's varsity squad this season are Aiden Manuel and Maeve Flentie, who will bring a fresh outlook to the team, Purcell said.

"I'm just excited to have the new ones this year, just bringing in that fresh start feeling, and mostly just getting them to all work together. I'm excited to have the seniors and upperclassmen come in and help them do things, and then just put it all together and enjoy being a team."

Purcell is happy with the Cougars' performance so far this season, but knows there are still gaps in the team's skill level, particularly on the uneven bars and beam. She is expecting to see progress now that the season is underway and routines are being performed more consistently.

As for Curry, Purcell has no doubt that her star is capable of a third straight individual state title in 2021, but doesn't want it to come at the expense of her mental health, especially after all the turmoil of the past 18 months.

"We have told Mia that we want her to enjoy her senior year," Purcell said. "You always have high expectations, and she has high expectations of herself, and we've really talked about just enjoying it- enjoying the year, enjoying being able to be here, having people in the stands, being able to go to football games your senior year, all those things that athletes and students haven't had."