Hilary Steele knew she was in for a tall task when she was tapped as the head coach of Temple Gymnastics before last season. After just one year as an assistant, she replaced long-time coach Josh Nilson, who turned the Owls into perennial contenders during his five years by claiming three consecutive conference titles.
In Steele’s first season, her roster was composed of 10 freshmen and their inexperience was evident from the jump. Temple started the season with six straight losses and never fully recovered. The Owls ended the season with an underwhelming 15-19 record, the fewest wins for the program since 2021.
Despite the poor record, Temple still showed spurts of promise. Multiple freshmen stepped up and established themselves as future cornerstones of the program. Entering her second season as head coach, Steele’s program has an impressive mix of underclassmen and veterans and Temple expects to rediscover its success on the mat.
“This season our goal is definitely to win the [East Atlantic Gymnastics League] and make regionals,” Steele said. “I think we are 100% capable of that and I think we were capable of it last year. We just need to find our consistency.”
Temple had eight freshmen join the program this offseason, making 18 of the team’s 26 gymnasts underclassmen. Despite the youth, the Owls still have a core of veteran returners that they hope will anchor the team. Brooke Donabedian headlines those returners, coming back to North Broad Street for one final season.
Donabedian returns to Temple as one of the most decorated gymnasts in program history. The graduate student has tied the school record for the floor routine with a 9.950 score twice and has qualified for NCAA Regionals on three occasions. Last season, she was named first-team all-conference and will have one last opportunity to help elevate the program she helped rejuvenate.
“I think it’s more for [Donabedian] and enjoying her last year of college gymnastics,” Steele said. “I think she can always show the world how much talent she has and how beautiful of a gymnast she is, but I don’t want her to think that she has anything to prove.”
The Owls’ inconsistencies last season largely stemmed from the youth and inexperience on the roster. A few freshmen, like Amelia Budd and Payton Monk, found success but the unit collectively struggled to gel together.
The Owls lost key contributors from last season, headlined by all-conference gymnast Mackenzie Aresta. Now, the team will have to lean on those same incoming sophomores who were plagued with inconsistencies last season to fill the void.
Monk was a standout performer in her first season in the Cherry and White. She led the way for the Owls on the vault routine, tallying 10 scores of 9.8 or higher last season. She earned a spot on the All-EAGL Second Team last season and gives Temple a building block for the future.
“We hope a few more of [the underclassmen] are able to step up now that they’ve adjusted to being college athletes,” Steele said. “They have now made the adjustment of moving away from home and training less hours.”
The program will also see the return of graduate student Renee Schugman, who earned second-team all-conference honors last season. Sisters Hannah and Sarah Stallings are also back for another season to help lead the way for the younger gymnasts.
With the team’s relative lack of experience at collegiate-level competitions, gymnasts like Hannah and Sarah Stallings have made an effort to ease the transition to the higher level for their younger teammates. The difference from club to collegiate gymnastics is drastic, and they hope to help prepare the underclassmen for what is expected of them, Sarah Stallings said.
“I try to lead by example a lot, but I think the senior class is really trying to step up,” Sarah Stallings said. “Competing in a team is a lot different than the individualized environment in club and high school, so I think we’re trying to help them get used to that the most.”
The Owls will start their season at the Cherry and White Invitational on Dec. 14, before meeting West Virginia on Jan. 4. Last season was a challenge for the new-look Temple program, but with an exciting blend of young players and freshmen, growth and improvement could be in the cards.
“I want to see us climb in the rankings and have more consistency throughout the entire team,” Donabedian said. “I think we are really capable of it because we have so much fun and we do so much better when we are having fun. I think we can become regular season champions.”
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