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PatrickHenry
BurkeyKendyl
By JOSLYN JOHNSON
NWS Sports Writer
HAMLER - Patrick Henry’s Kendyl Burkey
had a dream at a young age that she wanted to
compete and go to state like the “big girls.”
That dream was nearly shattered last year.
The daughter of Brad and Kris Burkey start-
ed gymnastics at the age of 4, the age when most
girls begin tumbling.
She started to compete at the age of 9.
“When I was little I watched the older girls and
I wanted to be like them,” Burkey recalled. “My
good.’ So I just stuck with it,” she said. “I was
willing to try it out and see what happens.”
What happened was she moved up the ranks,
and when she entered high school, had high hopes
of competing with the older girls. She found out
Burkey said.
On the third meet of her junior year, Burkey
She heard one sound every athlete does not
want to hear - a pop.
“I felt my knee pop. I tried to stand but my knee gave out. I
right. I was devastated.”
She tore her anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL.
“I was working really hard and I tore it on a new skill,” she
said.
After competing in gymnastics for so long, Burkey didn’t
want her gymnastics career to end on an injury.
“The doctors said it would take a lot of hard work, but that I
could make it back for my senior year,” Burkey said. “I’ve been
competing since I was 9 and my biggest goal was to make it to
state. I had one more shot so I worked hard to make it back.”
It wasn’t easy though.
“The mental part was the toughest. Not being able to compete
for the rest of my junior year was hard,” Burkey said. “And ev-
happening.”
She used the off season to rehabilitate and all her hard work
seems to have paid off.
“She barely did anything in the preseason, so she’s done very
good with her injury,” Patrick Henry coach Heather Schwiebert
said.
Recently she scored her best score on the beam at the Patrick
Henry Invite, which is good timing with districts just around the
corner.
I just started crying,” Burkey said.
done,” Schwiebert said.
teams she will face at the district meet.
“During meets I try to go into a zone and have fun with it,”
Burkey said. “I say a pray and ask God to keep me safe and let
me have fun.”
In gymnastics, it’s one-and-done for a shot at state. No sec-
tionals, districts and regionals. It’s just one district meet, and if
“She has all of the skills she needs,” Schwiebert said. “She’s a
good performer and has good artistry along with her tumbling.”
“I am here today because of the support of my family, coaches
and club coaches Bev Alley and Celeste Fryman,” Burkey said.
“I’m just going to do my best and give it all I got.”
The senior, who is also a cheerleader for the Patriots, is a
member of the National Honor Society and student council.
She plans to attend Eastern Michigan University to study oc-
cupational therapy.
E-mail comments to jeffr@northwestsignal.net.