Being on a gymnastics team with no seniors and only one junior leaves room for younger girls on the team to step up and become leaders at a young age. LHS sophomore Lexi Hart has already taken a large role in LHS gymnastics’ success this season by being a leader and example for the other young girls when they only have a single upperclassman to look up to.

Hart is a talented athlete that leads by example and works hard to make not only herself, but also her teammates better. Junior Michaela Mohr attests to the positive attitude that Hart has brought to the team.

“Some of her best qualities are her leadership skills and her personality because she is able to get along with everyone on the team and makes sure no one is left out,” said Mohr. “She stands out because we have a younger team and she really steps up to be a leader and a role model to the younger girls.”

Many athletes that are already talented do not think that they need to work hard because they are already good at their sport, but this is not the case for Hart. She understands that in order to be the best, she has to continue to improve, and this is what makes her a great gymnast.

“She is a good gymnast because she puts in the time and effort,” said Mohr. “After last season, her and some other girls on our team started going to a gymnastics gym called Wings, and personally I think that made her a lot better.”

In gymnastics, there are four individual events that a gymnast can participate in, and Hart has already qualified for state in all of them.

“Lexi competes all-around, which means she does vault, bars, beam and floor, and she qualified for state in every event,” said Mohr.  “I think she is the best at vault, but she is very well-rounded and good at all of the events.”

Hart and the LHS gymnastics team will be participating in the State Meet at Aberdeen Central High School on Feb. 10.