The Kinghorns are a family with a special sort of bond. The parents raised their kids to be extremely active; you could say hyperactive.

David and Susie Kinghorn became black belts in the martial arts of time management. All three of their kids were in soccer, softball, gymnastics and piano – they admit they were a little busy. When the Kinghorns had their third child, Carrie, they noticed right away that she was full of energy.

“She was always climbing on things from patios to trees, sometimes up to twenty feet high,” David Kinghorn said. “Anything she could find she would climb on it.”

Her rambunctious nature led her parents to search for an outlet for all of her energy at age four. They placed Carrie in a toddler gymnastics program to burn off that extra energy. It turned out that it would be a life changing decision for their daughter.

Before coming to Sacramento State the 5-foot 3-inch, Salem, Ore. native, spent 14 years on a variety of gymnastics teams. In 2002, a decade and a half of bending and twisting into bizarre forms earned Kinghorn a walk-on spot with the Sac State gymnastics team. year by year Kinghorn has worked her way into a strong position on the nationally competitive team.

“She’s an excellent gymnast and student,” gymnastics coach Kim Hughes said. “She is very easy going-it’s a rare day when Carrie isn’t upbeat.”

Her days of playing for the Saxon Sliders softball team, back in Salem, are just a faint memory now as she sets her eyes on her last season as a gymnast. This will be the final year Kinghorn will be able to sport a green and gold leotard. In a five-member senior class, Kinghorn has consistently contributed on the bars, vault and floor events.

David and Susie Kinghorn have attended nearly every one of their daughter’s meets, home or away, over her past four years as a Hornet. They both arrange their schedules to be their daughter’s personal cheering squad. For David and Susie it is all part of the fun of being parents.

“We try to make sure at least one of us is there,” David said. “It’s part of our entire year. I’ve never seen it as any kind of burden.’

Perhaps the most faithful “Gym-backers,” a group formed for parents of gymnasts, the 500-mile trek from Portland isn’t even considered an obstacle to Kinghorn’s faithful parents. David and Susie made it down to Sacramento for Senior Day on March 12 to watch their daughter and the rest of the Hornets have a historic night against UC Davis. The Hornets recorded the fourth best score in program history at 195.175.

Last Friday Sac State once again defeated Davis, 195.325 to 193.075, for the fourth time this year. The 2006 senior class has never lost to Davis.

On a night that commemorated the senior class, Kinghorn looked back over her four years as a Hornet, and 16 years as a gymnast.”The thing I will remember the most after leaving here will be friendships and the experiences I’ve had with the team,” Kinghorn said. “I want to cry but it just hasn’t quite hit me yet. I don’t think it will until the very last meet of the year.”

“She’s just not ready to give it up yet,” Susie said. “She doesn’t want to even acknowledge it is happening.”

For both Kinghorn and her parents the past four years have passed by too quickly and the adjustment to a life without leotards will be an admittedly difficult one. Kinghorn plans to graduate in May and during that year will assist the team’s coaching staff. After graduating, Kinghorn plans to enroll in a nursing program.

Brad Alexander can be reached at [email protected]