Go Shelly !

Hopefully you saw the Pacesetter story this week about Shelly Muskeyvalley. This week she became the first gymnast from Rock Island High School since Tiffany Chapman won the state title 11 years ago, to advance to the state meet.

Shelly, it can now be revealed, is my almost-adopted third daughter. The Muskeyvalleys are our backyard neighbors and she and my daughter, Meagan, have been best friends and gymnastics teammates for as long as anyone can remember. Both families have had an extra bed in the girls' rooms because they spent so much time at each other's house.

At all of the Muskeyvalley/Banks family gatherings, Meagan was the one little white girl who really believed that somehow she was part of their family. Many times I've introduced Shelly as my daughter, drawing many quizzical looks. In junior high, the girls actually had some teachers convinced that they were somehow sisters -- aided by older brother Munchie proclaiming that ``of course'' Meagan was his sister. We've watched as they both grew into beautiful and talented young women.

For the last two years, Meagan, Shelly and teammate Breezy Lonergan, as well as Brianne Marriott, Betsy Mack and Audrey Just at Alleman High School, represented their schools in IHSA gymnastics competition. They took advantage of a little-used IHSA rule that allows girls to compete as individuals in gymnastics if a school doesn't have enough competitors to field a team. With the blessing of their schools, they have trained on their own with an IHSA-certified volunteer coach at the Quad City Gymnastics Academy in Milan.

It's been a difficult year for both my daughter and Shelly. Shelly strained ligaments in her back in a fall late last year. Meagan first suffered a back injury and then a New Year's Day appendectomy that combined to keep her out of the gym and competition for five weeks. The passion for the sport, and tolerance of pain, demonstrated by these girls absolutely amazes me.

Shelly put together a great performance at regionals to advance to sectionals in floor exercise, vault, bars and all-around and then advanced to the state meet in floor exercise. Betsy Mack from Alleman also advanced to sectionals in floor exercise and all-around.

Her mother and I never expected Meagan to compete again this season. She heeled quickly and was released by her surgeon two weeks earlier than originally expected. Still in pain, out of condition, and with little strength in her stomach muscles, she trained in pain to try to get ready. The night before regionals she announced that she had put together enough of a routine to compete in everything but uneven bars. There she'd just ``try it and see what happens,'' she said.

Gymnastics is a cruel sport. Scores are based on perfection. Individual efforts are measured in degrees of failure.

If you think this is personal, it is. These are my girls.

For both, just making it back to compete at regionals was a major, major victory. Both girls lost almost their entire competition season which is normally what prepares you for the state competition that follows. I'm so very proud of their efforts.

I'm also very proud of the efforts that Breezy, Brianne, Betsy and Audrey have made laboring in obscurity as ``individuals'' without a team.

Of course the irony is that they are a team. As heated as the rivalry between Rocky and Alleman is, it can't hide the fact that these girls have trained together at Quad City Gymnastics Academy since they were young. With the support of owner/coach David Van Acker and coach Brooke Jackson, these girls have been able to take advantage of the IHSA rule and live out the dream of representing their school in gymnastics. They go to meets together and cheer for each other. They share in each other's victories, and support each other in defeat.

Now Shelly, only a sophomore, is following in the footsteps of Moline's Sarah Burgett (2002-03), Geneseo's Dawn VerHeecke (2001) and five-time state champion Tiffany Chapman (all of which also trained with Van Acker) and joining the elite group of gymnasts who will compete next weekend at the state tournament.

Despite what the gymnastics scoring system says, these girls are all winners. They had to fight to be allowed to compete for their schools, train on their own time, get to meets by themselves, and endure the comments of girls from the well-financed, elite (and often snobby) Chicago area schools.

Gymnastics season never ends. Most of these girls are already planning for skills they will be working on to improve their scores next year. They will continue to work out in preparation for next season.

And they'll be joining the rest of us in pulling for Shelly as she does something that no Rock Island gymnast has done since back in the Chapman days when Rocky had gymnastics as a team sport -- taking her shot at a state championship.

For my daughter, Shelly's achievement is the next best thing to being there herself. God willing she and the other girls will stay healthy and get their shot next year.

Good luck Shelly. We know you'll represent Rock-town well.