Taking deep breaths, she tells herself she can fly through the air. She tells herself she has – a million times, four a days a week for the last four years, earlier in practice today – flown.

Her heart is racing. Her mind is rushing with thoughts. Her audience is screaming.

Finally, she sings a song in her head, calming herself down, focusing on only one thing.

Sac State Gymnast Toni Peterson, a junior, team captain, managed to reassure and calm herself down competition after competition. In nine-of-12 all-around events this season, she has resigned above her teammates. She entered the NCAA West Regional two weeks after winning the all-around title at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship.

She had been looking forward this moment all season long. The NCAA West Regional is the last hurdle that she has to jump and land on her two feet to compete nationally in gymnastics.

“Watching the Olympics inspires me,” Peterson said. “I see those girls do so well, I see what they have accomplished, and I just want something like that.”

Peterson played almost every sport when she was young. She got a taste of gymnastics in second grade for about two weeks and enjoyed her experienced.

However, she waited six years before committing herself to gymnastics and has kept her commitment to the sports from the time she begged her parents to place her in a gymnastics program.

“It?s so much fun that it keeps motivating me to do more,” Peterson said. “And each year I have improved so much.”

Improving and advancing her skills has motivated her to set higher goals. Last summer, “she did a lot of summer training and physical training to be prepared for this season,” said Kim Hughes, head gymnastics coach.

After her sophomore year, Peterson added new and difficult skills to her routines, focusing on what it takes to be a champion. Setting her sights forth on the regional and nationals, she worked harder on her skills, training 20 hours a week with her teammates.

“It frustrates her if she?s not doing her best,” said Randy Solorio, assistant gymnastics coach. “She is always pushing herself, she knows she can do it.”

Nevertheless, Peterson knows anything that flies throw the air has to land. She knows that you always don?t have the perfect landing either.

“I have learned to tell myself things happen and that?s the way it is,” she said. “It?s not the end of the world.”

Like other students, Peterson goes to class from 9:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.; then she leaves for practice. At 1:00 P.M., she is on the balance beam, wearing a shimmering bluish green leotard and black biker shorts. Her green eyes are focused on the four-inch beam as she flips in the air to land back on the tiny balance beam. She throws her arms in the air, her fingers arching down, her back and abs tight and straight.

“It is hard to concentrate on the beam in competition when people are screaming,” Peterson said. “You are on the skinny little four inch beam, doing skills that are hard and flying through the air, sometimes I?ll sing a song in my head, something to get my head not thinking.”

The night before competition, Peterson watches a movie to relax herself before going to bed.

At the NCAA West Regional last month, she kept herself cool as a cucumber to maintain her focus. She received a 9.75 on the beam and 9.9 on the floor exercise.

“I love floor,” Peterson said. “I get to tumble and dance, and I enjoy going out there and having an audience put their eyes on me.”

Peterson danced for fun as a young girl and took ballet once she started gymnastics. She trains year around with her teammates in order to stay in peak condition.

“My body is dead after practice but I am pretty awake to do homework,” Peterson said.

The training ends around 4:00 p.m., and if she doesn?t have an evening class, she stays home and studies. A Couple hours later, she?ll start feeling really tired but she pushes herself to finish her assignment.

Gymnastics has taught her to be discipline with her time; however, her mind is never off gymnastics.

“I?ll be typing a paper, and I?ll see something really cool skill in my head,” she said.

This whole season, Peterson has given an outstanding performance. She has won the all-around title twice in competition.

“She?s been swinging ,” Solorio said. “Years past in her freshman and sophomore year, she really had no faith in her swings, now she is seeing her own results on the bars.”

Peterson received a 9.625 on the bars at the NCAA West Regional.

She competed in every event except for the vault when she started her gymnastic career at Sac State as a freshman. She didn?t want to compete on the vault. The vault is the hardest event for her but she didn?t resist long. Seeing her teammates having so much on the vault, she incorporated vault into her program after the first competition.

At the NCAA West Regional, the vault was going to be the last hurdle she had jump off the springboard, flip in the air and land on her feet.

She took deep breaths, calming herself down, focusing on one thing. Then she ran towards the vault, rotating in the air.

“My father came running down the floor,” recalls Peterson. “He said ?are you okay, we are so proud of you, don?t worry about this,? my parents are more excited for me than I am for myself.”

“I was really upset and hurting because I was sore,” Peterson said.

She didn?t land on her feet and received a score of 7.2. The marks on the vault dropped her at the bottom of the rankings. Her dreams to compete nationally shattered with just one fall.

“She was very close this year,” Hughes said. “We are going to work very hard to help her achieve that next season. It will be the first for our program, someone to make it to the nationals.”

Peterson still managed to keep her ranking within the top 100 in the all-around nationally this year, ranking 75th.

“Mistakes happen,” Peterson said.

Determined and confident to fly through the air, Peterson will train through the summer, perfecting her skills and landing.

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