Chesterton's Lindsey Campbell faces her challenges

Chesterton gymnast Lindsey Campbell doesn't feel comfortable on every apparatus, but that doesn't prevent her from executing the routines.

"My favorite is beam," said Campbell, who had a personal-best 9.6 at the Chesterton Invitational. "I feel confidence on it like no other.

"I absolutely hate vault; I just don't enjoy running toward a stationary object. I just push through my fear and throw whatever skill I need."

That willingness to face challenges drives Campbell.

She started gymnastics when she was 4 years old, competed at USA Gymnastics events then stopped as a seventh-grader.

Campbell both dove and played softball as a freshman, and she remains a cheerleader with the All-Star Angels of Indiana Elite Gymnastics.

She returned to the sport last spring, and now she's going through her initial prep gymnastics campaign.

"I wanted to be a part of a (gymnastics) team, and I hadn't experienced that before," Campbell said. "You're not out there to beat someone, you're out there to contribute.

"Getting the nerve to do stuff again was scary. Once I did it, I was fine. I seemed to pick up right where I left off."

Campbell's offseason progress was slowed somewhat on July 12, when she partially tore two ligaments in her ankle while practicing on beam. That didn't stop Campbell from adapting to the situation.

"(At first), I really favored my (injured) foot and just pushed with the other side," Campbell said. "I learned to deal with the pain and push off with (the injured foot).

Campbell has progressed to a back handspring-back handspring run on beam.

On vault, Campbell has dealt with the ups and downs of executing a Yurchenko -- a round-off, back handspring. In USAG, she struggled to do them for four years, and her training regressed after a bout a mononucleosis.

Campbell recently added a back tuck to her Yurchenko. She had four top-six finishes against top-ranked Valparaiso last Tuesday, including a sixth on vault (8.7).

"I was really scared," she said. "As soon as I do them, I find out that it's not as bad as I thought."

Chesterton alum and new coach Lauren West likes what she sees so far in Campbell.

"She's got talent," West said of Campbell. "Her best is yet to come."

Cambell feels at ease with West, a four-time state champion.

"Being able to know how successful she was makes me believe she knows what is going on," Campbell said of West. "She can teach us, and I know I can trust her."