Cohen reflects on HPHS gymnastics after landing personal-best vault score in final meet

Highland Park senior Maddyn Cohen has learned a lot through Giants gymnastics.

Those lessons — whether resilience, perspective or leadership — came into play in Cohen’s final meets as a Giant.

One such lesson, which she explained as “If you put in the hard work, it will show, even if it’s not in the way you want it to,” brought her to a peaceful place in the sectional meet on Thursday, Feb. 12, in Lake Forest.

Cohen came up short of her goal (by just 0.775) to qualify for the state finals in the vault; however, Cohen put up a score of 9.225 — 13th out of more than 30 gymnasts and a personal best.

“It was not the way I expected it (to end), but it was a good last one,” Cohen said. “I wanted to make state on vault or beam … but it’s fine. I PR’d on vault.”

Cohen advanced to the sectional meet as an all-around competitor, scoring a 34.225 in the regional round to place fourth overall.

The regional performance gave Cohen a sectional berth for the second straight year and third time in four years, and more often than not, according to her coach, set the tone for the Giants.

“Maddyn had a huge impact on our program during her four years,” Giants coach Anthony Kopp said in an email. “She qualified for (sectionals) three out of four seasons, and our sectional is probably the most difficult to qualify for in the state.

“She has a fantastic work ethic and is probably the most competitive athlete I’ve ever coached. It was awesome to watch some things click for her this year and see her cap off a great career. She poured her heart into gymnastics and we’re lucky to have her in the program.”

Leadership is another skill Cohen said she picked up through her Giants years.

She was able to put that to good use in her final season, leading a Giants lineup that included sophomores Lily Fussle and Naomi Rago, among others.

Fussle, whose 32.0 all-around score in the regional pushed her through to the sectional, was alongside Cohen on Thursday in Lake Forest. Cohen said she helped Fussle through a challenge in the regional competition.

“She had a situation I had been in before,” Cohen said. “So being able to take that and guide her through it and let her know that one bad meet is not the end.”

After her HPHS graduation, Cohen is off to the University of Colorado at Boulder. She has more than luggage to take with her.

“It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Cohen said of Giants gymnastics. “As a person, I’ve grown from Kopp and all my coaches. They’ve taught me so much more than if I just didn’t come to my high school (team).”

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