Setting the bar higher in Eagan

Eagan gymnast Julia Wolter doesn't even remember her first couple of high school meets.

"Oh, gosh, I was all nerves," she said.

The senior has since learned to calm down and enjoy the moment, but Tuesday's meet at Bloomington Jefferson brought back some familiar feelings. It wasn't so much because of the first meet of the season, but the "last first meet."

Wolter finished ninth in the Class 2A all-around at last February's state meet, including a fifth-place showing on the balance beam.

She is increasing the difficulty in all her events.

"I've been amping it up, especially because it is my senior year and I kind of want to end with a bang," Wolter said.

Part of that will come from a new floor routine. It's her favorite event because of the music and creativity. Along with coach Shelly Eklund, they decided to change the act, which had been the same for the past few years.

Eklund, in her third year at Eagan, has gotten a chance to see Wolter, who began gymnastics in second grade, progress throughout her high school career.

"I believe she has really, really blossomed into even more of a talented gymnast," Eklund said.

All Wildcats work with Eklund as an all-around gymnast, per her policy. She believes there are more benefits to that. It was common for one-event specialists in previous decades, but there has been an uptick in all-around competitors in recent years. Wolter, who works equally as hard in each event, is a prime example. She loves gauging improvement, gaining new skills and the sport's uniqueness -- how it takes many components to be successful, including strength, flexibility and the mental aspect.

But it doesn't make things any easier.

"There's more to prepare for, more to think about -- probably more stressful," Wolter said. "But I like doing all of it. It's what I prefer."

Despite her skill and track record, this might be Wolter's grand finale. Many colleges in the Midwest have lost gymnastics as a part of their athletics programs and Division I gymnastic scholarships are extremely hard to obtain, Eklund said. Wolter's brainpower, however, could easily replace that.

With her grade-point average just a shade under 4.0, Wolter's college focus is heavily steered toward academics. Currently leaning towards the medical field, Wolter would love to keep gymnastics in her life, but it's not priority No. 1. In fact, the reason she left club gymnastics to join the Eagan high school program was because it allowed her to spend more time with class work.