Aggie senior gymnasts leave with no regrets
Compete with no regrets. Those are the words senior Lyndsie Boone has lived for the last four years.
“You always get out there and think you can do things better or differently,” she said. “It’s so much better to compete with no regrets and go out and do the best you can do.”
Boone is one of two seniors on the USU gymnastics team. She, along with Jackie Dillon, have spent the last four years of their lives devoted to the team and to representing the Aggies the best they can.
“They have a great love for the sport,” head coach Jeff Richards said. “They’ve kept getting better and better and pushed through a lot.”
Both Boone and Dillon came to Logan from far away, not knowing anyone. Boone is from Winthrop Harbor, Ill., and Dillon from Anderson, S.C. The girls agreed that being a part of the team made the adjustment easier.
“Being on the team is like your own little family,” Boone said. “You come from the small town where you know absolutely no one in Utah, to meeting these girls and becoming friends with everyone.”
Dillon said, “We were all so homesick, it was so much to get used to, from preseason, when it’s really hard, through meets and everything, your teammates are always there for you.”
Both Dillon and Boone have pushed through significant injuries in the past and were still able to compete most of their four seasons. Dillon had knee surgery during the summer of 2010 and has spent this season working back from the operation. Boone has worked through ankle and knee problems and maintained successful seasons.
In 2008, the summer before their sophomore year, Raymond Corn, the former head coach of Aggie gymnastics, retired and Richards was brought in. Coaching changes can add to the challenges of a team, but the gymnastics team got through it and made the most of it.
“Being a part of the team taught me how to get through things and I got to help the other girls keep their heads up when they come to tough times,” Dillon said. “We go through a lot in the gym.”
Richards said both girls have been excellent examples for the rest of the girls and been strong leaders on the team. While they have similar personalities outside of the gym, their leadership and style in the gym is very different.
“Jackie is the one who leads silently by example,” he said. “Boone is the eccentric and outgoing motivator. They have two very different styles.”
Boone and Dillon will both be heading to the regional competition this year as all-around competitors. This will be Dillon’s third Regionals meet, having competed in both the bars and vault events. Boone competed on the beam her freshman year and as an all-around the last two years.
“I think it will be a dog fight in there. They’re ready to go. They’re very excited,” Richards said. “Hopefully they can just go in relaxed and having a good time and not even worrying about the meet.”
The girls haven’t had the most winning of seasons in their time at Utah State, but said they still think they’ve been successful.
“It’s kind of disappointing when we don’t win, and looking back on things, there are times you know you could have done so much better,” Dillon said. “But seeing all the injuries, the coaching changes, everything like that, we really stayed positive and kept going and did the best we could.”
Boone said, “You always wish for more wins and a higher record, but you have to look at it as a whole. Being an Aggie is the best thing I’ve done in my gymnastics career.”
Dillon said she felt her career was successful and meaningful.
“I was a walk-on my freshman year, so once I got my scholarship I was like ‘Oh my gosh, I really do mean something to the team,’ and that really made the difference,” she said. “As a senior it finally all came together and I had the best year I’ve ever had.”
Boone said “I think I’ve been very consistent. I’m not going to go and say I’m the best at anything, but I’ve been a very consistent competitor.”
Being a part of a collegiate athletic team has taught the girls many real-world lessons that they think will stick with them for life.
“I’ve learned time management, and just to let the little things go,” Dillon said. “There’s so much going on, that you can’t waste time stressing out about the little things.”
Boone said, “The biggest thing I’ve learned is to not procrastinate. Maybe it’s stupid, but it’s been a huge one for me.”
As Boone and Dillon get ready to move on with life, neither are entirely sure where they are headed.
“The only thing I’m sure about is that I’m 100 percent up in the air right now,” Boone said.
Dillon said, “I’m excited to start a new chapter in my life, but it’s scary to have the change of scenery and move on to new things. I’ve been in this zone for four years, so it’s weird.”
Boone is trying to decide whether to return to Illinois or stay in Logan and be the graduate assistant for the team next year while working on her MBA.
Dillon is planning to return to South Carolina and work for a year before going to graduate school.
“I definitely need a break before I do more school,” she said. “Plus, it’s too cold here, I need to go home for awhile.”
Dillon and Boone said they are hoping to leave a legacy for the team and want to see them succeed.
“I feel like if we keep growing like we have, we can just keep going up,” Dillon said.
– megan.allen@aggiemail.usu.edu