New Trier senior Clara Crossgrove is thinking about majoring in psychology in college.
That may be an apt choice given her ability to handle the frequent demands and occasional disappointments she has encountered in gymnastics. Crossgrove finished third on uneven bars at the 2024 state meet and was considered the favorite to win the state title in the event in Palatine on Saturday after recording the highest sectional score.
“She had probably the best bar routine in the state, but she fell in prelims, and it was kind of heartbreaking,” New Trier coach Jennifer Pistorius said. “We went from bars to beam, and we finished on beam, which nobody really wants to finish on beam.
“I said, ‘You’ve got to put that out of your head. You’ve got one more event to do.’ And she stuck her beam routine. That’s just a gut check. She’s so determined, and she can focus in the moment and switch gears that quickly.”
The fall on bars dashed Crossgrove’s dreams of a state title in that event, but she qualified for the finals in the floor exercise with a 9.5, the highest score in the preliminary round on Friday.
The floor exercise in the finals on Saturday was the final routine of Crossgrove’s career, and she was laser-focused on making it the best it could be.
“I just put all of my energy into floor,” she said. “If I’m not making it on bars, then I better make this the best floor routine that I’ve done.”
Crossgrove did exactly that. Competing fourth in the field of 10 gymnasts, she scored a 9.55 to overtake Hersey freshman Maria Reyes for the lead. The remaining six competitors failed to match Crossgrove’s score, making her the state champion. Oswego senior Ava Sullivan finished second with a 9.525, and Reyes was third with a 9.5.
“She was just having so much fun, and she was clean with her tumbling passes,” Pistorius said of Crossgrove. “We were just trying to fine-tune stuff. Like even in warmups, I said, ‘Let’s do a little switch here at the end.’ She was just really tough.”
Crossgrove’s ability to shake off her fall was a valuable lesson and a demonstration of her ability to lead the Trevians, who finished seventh in the team standings with 141 points.
What advice does she have for younger gymnasts whose events don’t always go as hoped?
“The most valuable player is the one who goes after the person who messed up, so you really have to just block out any mistakes that you’ve done because the past doesn’t matter,” Crossgrove said. “It’s what you can do to change that.”
Crossgrove, a four-year varsity performer, didn’t know what to expect when she joined the Trevians. Their rich past includes 15 trips to the state meet and three state trophies.
“I came from only doing club, and high school is a very different atmosphere,” Crossgrove said. “It’s more team-oriented, less individual, but after experiencing high school for four years, I’ve got the hang of it now.”
Pistorius is not surprised by Crossgrove, who is just the second individual state champion in program history, joining 2017 balance beam champion Maeve Murdock.
“She’s a super hard worker,” Pistorius said of Crossgrove. “She’s one of the hardest workers, and she’s very determined, so I knew that she was going to get better as the years went on.”
New Trier also improved, reaching the state meet last season for the first time since 2020. Crossgrove, who tied for 10th in the all-around with a 36.8 total, was the leader of a team that also included seniors Sammy Mills and Taylor Kim; juniors Anna Virgili, Paige Sharfstein and Elena Scarano; sophomores Lily McOmber and Zoey Junker; and freshmen Miya Schaffner and Karis Park.
Those teammates all played a role in making Crossgrove’s final season of gymnastics a blast.
“I love the team aspect,” she said. “Club is a lot more individual-based, and you’re against all your friends. High school is more about you want to win as a team and you want everybody to do good.”
Pistorius loved coaching Crossgrove.
“Oh, it was great,” Pistorius said. “She is extremely coachable, takes comments and corrections and really fixes the corrections.
“She’s so nice. She’s always positive even if she’s not happy. You can see it in her eyes if she’s not feeling it that day, but she’s just a great kid.”
One who saved her best routine for last and went out a champion.
“It just means so much to leave my mark there, especially as a senior,” Crossgrove said. “That was always my goal — to be on the record board.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
