Whysper Stephenson, a 16-year-old bluegrass artist who is the daughter of Larry and Dreama Stephenson, has qualified for the USA Gymnastics Nationals after winning her state championship on vault.
As we mentioned when her recent single, Life’s Highway, was released in February, this is one busy young lady. Whysper competes at a very high level in both gymnastics and riding, with multiple medals to her credit. Music was perhaps inevitable, coming from such a heavily bluegrass family on both sides, but gymnastics comes from mom, who had competed when she was in high school.
Coming into this season in December, Stephenson was competing at level 10, the highest ranking for gymnasts, but suffered a setback when a viral infection turned into post-viral fatigue syndrome, followed by a traumatic brain injury after falling off her horse in the Tennessee state riding competition. No training was allowed for weeks, and four important meets passed without her being able to participate.
After 11 years in gymnastics, it was a terrible blow, but Whysper’s dedication was such that she only dropped to level 9 upon her return, and her scores were high enough to qualify for the Tennessee state meet. There she won gold on Vault, took silver on All-Around and Beam, and bronze on Floor.
That sent her to the Regionals competition, to go up against qualifiers from eight southeastern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina). She came away with a silver medal in Vault, and was selected as a Region 8 National Team Member, one of seven, to compete in the National meet.
She will spend April 30 – May 3 in Savannah, GA at the Eastern National Championships. Whysper will be sharing her experience on Facebook.
Fortunately, Whysper has another season to return to level 10 before college scholarships are awarded in her final year. Most of the top college programs only recruit level 10 and elite gymnasts.
Well done, Whysper, and good luck at Nationals!
