Editor's Note: This is the third of a four-part series highlighting the best coaches and athletes at the University of Arkansas in 2014.
The first time Katherine Grable competed at the NCAA Championships in 2011, she was a wide-eyed freshman.
She came away with first-team All-American honors for her floor exercise, the first by a freshman in Arkansas history, but that’s not what she remembers most.
“I remember my freshman year going to nationals and seeing the national champions on the podium,” Grable said. “I thought, ‘They’re so good.’”
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Other Notable Athletes
Sebastian Cappelen, Men's Golf – Earned Golfweek and PING second-team All-American honors after finishing tied for ninth at the NCAA Championship. Won his professional debut in the Web.com Tour.
Ashleigh Ellenwood, Soccer – Named first-team All-SEC and third-team All-American by College Sports Madness after leading Arkansas in points and helping the Razorbacks reach the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Stanley Kebenei, Track/Cross Country – Finished second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Won the SEC Cross Country Championship and NCAA South Central Regional races before finishing sixth at the NCAA Cross Country Championship.
Dominique Scott, Track/Cross Country – Helped Arkansas’ distance medley relay win and finished second in the 3,000-meter at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Finished sixth in the 5,000-meter at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Won the SEC Cross Country Championship and NCAA South Central Regional races before finishing sixth at the NCAA Cross Country Championship.
Martrell Spaight, Football – Racked up 123 tackles during the regular season, becoming Arkansas’ first AP All-SEC First-Team linebacker since 2006.
Three years later, Grable was on the podium, winning national titles on the vault and the floor to become the first national champion gymnast in program history.
The performance capped a career in which she earned seven first-team All-American honors and two second-team All-American honors, as well as being named the 2014 SEC Gymnast of the Year.
Grable credits her success to an attitude adjustment during the offseason leading up to her senior year. For the first time, she was focused not only on improving, but also on perfection.
“She came in as a totally different person,” Arkansas coach Mark Cook. “She had accolades of being an All-American on numerous events, but she had never really knuckled down and focused on what she was capable of completely until her senior year.”
Her focus immediately bore results, as Grable obtained the No. 1 individual ranking in the all-around in January and remained in the top three for most of the season.
“It’s a great feeling to look online and see that your name is at the No. 1 spot,” Grable said, “but it’s also a lot of pressure because you feel like you have to live up to being No. 1.”
She handled the pressure well, winning the floor and the vault at the NCAA Fayetteville Regional to advance to the NCAA Championships in Birmingham, Alabama.
Heading into the meet, Grable wanted to win the all-around national championship, but after a slip-up on beam, she had to settle for second place.
Two days later, with the disappointment of the all-around behind her, she competed for the individual event titles. She was confident she would do well.
“On the way to the meet, I kind of had a feeling,” Grable said. “So many of my friends and family were excited and said, ‘Today’s the day.’ I had to prove that.”
Grable said she was nervous during warm-ups and wanted to do extra practice vaults, but her coaches calmed her down.
After she finally did the vault, her first event of the day, she knew it was good enough to win even without knowing her score.
“When I stuck it and saluted and I gave my coach a hug, that was the best thing I could have ever done and I did it at he most perfect time,” Grable said.
The score, a 9.975, was the highest winning score in NCAA history and brought Grable and her coaches to tears.
But she had to regain control of her emotions because her day wasn’t done.
As the final competitor on the floor, Grable waited for her turn where she could not watch the other gymnasts perform before her, but she could still hear the cheers of the crowd.
She needed a score higher than a 9.95 to win. Her routine earned a 9.962.
“For her to go on to floor exercise, finish toward the end of the competition and nail that set, too, brings tears to your eyes to watch your athlete go out there and perform to the best of their ability at the most crucial time of their career,” Cook said.
That floor exercise was the final event of Grable’s decorated Arkansas career.She is now coaching gymnastics in Fayetteville and would like to eventually become a college coach, but her college career is still fresh on her mind.
“What I really look back on is my improvement from my freshman year,” Grable said. “Not only in the gym, but outside the gym I became so much more mature and I think that is really what drove me to win a national championship.”