East spotlight: Sibley's all-around threat

Cecily Solem's considerable achievements as a Henry Sibley gymnast are not yet on display.

The banner recognizing the team's 2008 Classic Suburban Conference championship is missing somewhere in the building. And a leaderboard honoring the girls with top scores in each event -- Solem now holds them all -- does not yet exist.

Last week, Solem -- a former Level 9 club gymnast who joined the Warriors as a junior last season -- worked with less experienced teammates on the finer points of their floor routines. A sign nearby read: "Success is not measured in your accomplishments but in the accomplishments you have helped others achieve."

Solem has read the writing on the wall. She will be in the hunt for the Class 2A state all-around title after taking 11th last season. And the Warriors' lone senior is helping teammates reach their potential.

"It's been a little frustrating this year going from conference champs to not doing as well -- it's been a learning process for me," she said. "We started out the season at about a 98 for a team score. But we've hit a 119, and we're hoping to hit a 125 later this season."

Solem's individual goals are more lofty. In addition to working with novice teammates, she trained this summer with defending state all-around champion Anna Gleason of Roseville. The experience left Solem confident of her own abilities.

"I'm like, 'Hey, I'm just as good as she is,' " Solem said. "But she's more consistent, and I'm working toward that."

A mental error cost Solem a better finish at the state meet last season. Steady performances in all events were marred by a 8.775 score on the floor exercise.

"I had a little mishap," she said. "I balked on my last pass."

Co-head coach Janelle Borgen said Solem typically scores a 9.6 on floor exercise and a performance even close to her standard "would have put her up there."

Solem ended last season as one of the top juniors in the state and owner of Henry Sibley's balance beam, floor exercise, vault and all-around school records. Things started well this season until she broke the baby toe on her left foot on Dec. 20 while warming up for an invitational at Eastview.

"When I competed on it I could tell it was broken -- it felt like needles," she said. "But we taped it up, and I sucked it up and competed."

She experienced a positive break when Henry Sibley next competed Jan. 3 at Gustavus Adolphus. Solem's score on the uneven bars broke the school record, giving her top honors across the board.

"Last year, I tried so hard but never got it," she said. "I've been so close. So at Gustavus, I was like, 'Hey, I broke the bars record finally.'"

Solem never imagined such a long wait for great success when she left Gleason's Gymnastics School for varsity competition. She expected to dominate but found a wealth of strong gymnasts at the high school level.

Burnt out on club gymnastics, she better understands teammates who compete during the high school season for fun and the chance to be part of a team. She instructs them on the little things that can earn them better scores.

"There are some girls who haven't done gymnastics at all, or maybe are doing it for the first time since they were little," she said. "So it's totally different this year but it's working well."

David La Vaque • 612-673-7574