Eagles’ Quinn Skrupa headed south for NCAA dream

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This article was published 16/11/2020 (2073 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Quinn Skrupa takes a simple approach to the balance beam, regarded the toughest event in women’s artistic gymnastics.

Standing on a beam barely wider than a hockey puck (10 centimetres), four feet off the floor, the 17-year-old locks in and visualizes the series of jumps, handsprings and flips ahead of her.

“Just go for it all the way,” she said. “You can’t really back out of it.”

It’s one of the Brandonite’s best events, along with the floor. And her countless hours perfecting each and every movement with the Brandon Eagles are now taking her to Central Michigan University on a full-ride scholarship.

“I’m honestly really pumped. I’m super excited, it’s a dream come true,” Skrupa said after signing with the NCAA Division I school.

“This has kind of been one of my goals for life, so to finally get here is really overwhelming and exciting.”

Skrupa has pretty much grown up in the gym and matured because of the sport. Her parents had her training at 18 months old, and Skrupa stayed dedicated.

“You have to work very hard. You don’t really get a break like some of those other sports. You have to continue every month, 12 months a year, every day. It takes a lot, you have to be very dedicated, but it pays off in the end,” Skrupa said, adding she wouldn’t be here without coaches Lorie Henderson and Joe Stouffer.

“They always motivate me to do my best and always help me out. Whenever I’m down they talk to me and always want the best for me.”

The Vincent Massey senior said the move to Mount Pleasant, Mich., is made easier by the independence gymnastics instills at a young age. She was seven years old the first time she travelled without her parents, to compete in Banff, Alta.

Since then, the five-foot-three Skrupa became a multi-time national champion. She won the novice all-around, vault and beam titles in 2015, then high-performance novice all-around and uneven bars titles the following year.

Her favourite memory, however, came the following year. She travelled to Marseilles, France with the junior national team and won the open event gold.

“One of my goals was always to compete with … a Maple Leaf on my suit. When I finally got to go overseas and do that, that was a dream come true,” Skrupa said.

“Seeing how small we were, we were 14 and up against all the older girls. Seeing we could actually beat them and were competitors with them was really cool.”

Skrupa joined the senior national team last year.

When she lands at CMU, the competition certainly ramps up to earn her place with another group. The Chippewas have just three seniors, two juniors, eight sophomores and six freshman on the 19-athlete roster this year, leaving little room for turnover. Teams put six athletes into each event at a meet, so only the best third of the group on any given exercise have a shot to compete any given day.

While the gym is closed due to COVID-19, Skrupa is certainly motivated to put in work as soon and often as possible.

“I’m going to work a lot on my execution and consistency,” she said. “In NCAA everything has to be perfect. I’m going to work on my easier skills and my harder skills to make them absolutely perfect so I can contribute to the team.”

She’s planning to study pre-optometry, which means chasing a competitive field for her second degree a few years down the road. Of course, hard work is nothing new.

“I just focus and put my mind to everything. (Gymnastics) helps motivate me to doing school and everything,” Skrupa said.

“It definitely makes me mentally a whole bunch stronger for everything in life.”

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