Wikipedia

Sierra Brooks (gymnast)

Sierra Brooks (born September 29, 2001) is an American artistic gymnast. She currently competes for the Michigan Wolverines women's gymnastics team, and is a six-time All-American.

Sierra Brooks
Born (2001-09-29) September 29, 2001 (age 22)
Hinsdale, Illinois
HometownPlainfield, Illinois
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
ClubAspire Gymnastics Academy
College teamMichigan Wolverines
Head coach(es)Bev Plocki
Medal record
Representing Michigan Wolverines
NCAA Championships
Gold medal – first place 2021 Fort Worth Team
Silver medal – second place 2021 Fort Worth All-around
Silver medal – second place 2021 Fort Worth Balance beam
Silver medal – second place 2022 Fort Worth Uneven bars
Silver medal – second place 2024 Fort Worth Floor exercise

Early and personal life edit

Brooks was born in Hinsdale, Illinois to David and Shannon Brooks. Her father, David, played college baseball at Eastern Illinois, while her mother, Shannon, was a member of the Bradley University dance team. She attended Oswego East High School in Oswego, Illinois, and was a five-time Illinois state champion, and a two-time Region 5 All-Star team member.[1]

Brooks was a four-time Junior Olympics national team member. At the 2016 Junior Olympic Nationals she placed second on vault and tied for second in the all-around. At the 2017 Women's Junior Olympic National Championships, she placed second on the vault, tied for second on the balance beam, and third in the all-around. At the 2018 Women's Junior Olympic National Championships, she placed second on the vault and third in the all-around. At the 2019 Women's Junior Olympic National Championships, she won vault, beam, floor and the all-around.[2][3]

Career edit

On May 1, 2019, Brooks signed her national letter of intent to attend the University of Michigan.[2] In the fall of 2020, Brooks joined the Michigan Wolverines women's gymnastics team. During her freshman year she won 11 event and all-around titles, including two on vault, two on bars, two on balance beam, two on floor and three in the all-around. She finished the regular season ranked second in the conference in the all-around, third on vault, tied for fifth on uneven bars and floor exercise, and eighth on balance beam. She ranked among the top 50 nationally on vault (T-15th), bars (T-32nd), beam (35th), floor (T-37th) and the all-around (11th). She was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week seven times.[1] Following the season she was named the WCGA Northeast Regional Gymnast of the Year and the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.[4][5]

During her sophomore year in 2021, she won 13 event titles, including six vault, one uneven bars, two beam and four all-around. She finished the regular season ranked fifth on the vault and 15th in the all-around, while also ranking 22nd on bars and 31st on beam.[1] During the 2021 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship she recorded the highest all-around scored in Michigan NCAA Championship history with a career-best 39.7750. She won a silver medal in the balance beam and individual all-around to help Michigan win their first NCAA Championship in program history, with a program best score of 198.2500.[6][7] Following the season she was named a four-time WCGA All-American (all-around, uneven bars, balance beam, floor).[8]

On August 31, 2021, Brooks was named a captain for the 2022 season.[9] During her junior year in 2022, she won 15 individual event and all-around titles, including five on vault, two on uneven bars, two on beam, three on floor and three in the all-around. She finished the regular season ranked third nationally in the all-around, while ranking fourth on the vault and seventh on the floor. On February 26, 2022, she recorded her first career perfect 10.0 on the vault.[10][11] During the 2022 Big Ten Championships she posted her second career 10.0, winning the individual vault title, and helping Michigan win the Big Ten Championship.[12][13] During the 2022 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship she won a silver medal in the uneven bars. Following the season she was named a two-time WCGA All-American (vault, uneven bars), the WCGA Northeast Regional Gymnast of the Year and Big Ten Gymnast of the Year.[14][15]

During her senior year in 2023 Brooks earned 16 event titles including four all-around titles, and was a three-time Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honoree. She became the 13th Wolverine in program history to earn first team all-conference honors on four occasions.[16] She became the first Michigan gymnast to be named a three-time Regional Gymnast of the Year. Following the season she was named the Big Ten Gymnast of the Year for the second consecutive year. She became the third Michigan gymnast to earn the honor twice or more, following Beth Wymer and Sarah Cain.[17] She was also awarded the AAI Award.[18]

During her graduate year on January 12, 2024 Brooks broke Michigan's all-around record with a 39.850, surpassing the previous record of 39.825 held by Natalie Wojcik, Elise Ray, Sarah Cain and Beth Wymer. She scored a perfect 10.0 on floor, a 9.975 on vault and beam and a 9.900 on uneven bars.[19]

Career perfect 10.0s edit

Season Date Event Meet[20]
2022 February 26, 2022 Vault Michigan vs. Nebraska
March 19, 2022 Big Ten Championships
2023 February 3, 2023 Michigan vs. Rutgers
March 31, 2023 Floor Denver Regional
2024 January 12, 2024 Michigan vs. Stanford

NCAA regular season ranking edit

Season[21] All-Around Vault Uneven Bars Balance Beam Floor Exercise
2020[a] 11th 15th 32nd 35th 37th
2021 15th 5th 22nd 31st 61st
2022 3rd 4th 33rd 65th 7th
2023 8th 5th 14th 19th 18th
2024 9th 13th 15th 13th 7th
  1. ^ The season was cancelled after the 10th week of competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Competitive history edit

Year Event Team AA VT UB BB FX
NCAA
2020 Post-season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[22]
2021 Big Ten Championships   31 5 21 22
NCAA Championships      
2022 Big Ten Championships       17 5 7
NCAA Championships 8 18  
2023 Big Ten Championships     43      
2024 NCAA Championships  

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Sierra Brooks". MGoBlue.com. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Blevins, Ben (May 1, 2019). "Wolverines Add Brooks to Signing Class". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  3. ^ "Sierra Brooks". usagym.org. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  4. ^ Blevins, Ben (April 7, 2020). "Brooks Named WCGA Regional Gymnast of the Year". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  5. ^ Blevins, Bne (May 14, 2020). "Brooks Freshman of the Year, Five Wolverines Earn All-Big Ten Honors". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  6. ^ McIntosh, Megan (April 17, 2021). "National Champs! Michigan Claims First NCAA Title with Program-Best Score". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  7. ^ Crawford, Kirkland (April 17, 2021). "Michigan women's gymnastics wins first national championship in program history". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  8. ^ McIntosh, Megan (April 19, 2021). "Brooks, Wojcik Share Team MVP Honors for National Championship Season". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  9. ^ McIntosh, Megan (August 31, 2021). "Wolverines Name Captains for 2021-22 Season". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  10. ^ McIntosh, Megan (February 26, 2022). "Brooks' Perfect 10 against Nebraska Helps U-M Close B1G Season Unbeaten". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  11. ^ Daniels, Taylor (February 28, 2022). "Sierra Brooks boosts Michigan over Nebraska". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  12. ^ McIntosh, Megan (March 19, 2022). "Big Ten Champions! All-Around Winner Heiskell Leads Wolverines to 26th Title". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  13. ^ Chengelis, Angelique S. (March 19, 2022). "UM women's gymnastics repeat as Big Ten champs, 26th title in program history". The Detroit News. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  14. ^ McIntosh, Megan (March 19, 2022). "Brooks Named Big Ten Gymnast of the Year". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  15. ^ McIntosh, Megan (April 7, 2022). "Brooks Named Regional Gymnast of the Year". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  16. ^ McIntosh, Megan (March 15, 2023). "Seven Wolverines Named to Big Ten All-Conference Teams, Five to First Team". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  17. ^ McIntosh, Megan (March 18, 2023). "Brooks Earns Second Consecutive Big Ten Gymnast of the Year Honor". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  18. ^ McIntosh, Megan (April 11, 2023). "Brooks Wins Prestigious AAI Award as NCAA's Top Senior Gymnast". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  19. ^ McIntosh, Megan (January 12, 2024). "Brooks Breaks All-Around Record as Wolverines Earn Decisive Win over Stanford". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  20. ^ "Hall of 10s". balancebeamsituation.com. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  21. ^ "Road to Nationals - NCAA Gymnastics Rankings". roadtonationals.com. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  22. ^ "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships due to coronavirus concerns". NCAA.com. March 30, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
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