Kalliah McCartney made Sacramento State history last season when she qualified for the NCAA Division I Championships as an all-around gymnast in her junior season. But if anyone is up to the task of coming back better after a momentous season, it is McCartney.

“She’s one of the most dedicated and hard working at the sport of gymnastics that I’ve ever coached,” gymnastics coach Kim Hughes said. “ It’s not a challenge to get her to come back strong.”

For McCartney, her junior season was one of ups and downs as she dealt with sickness and injuries throughout the season, something she previously never encountered in her collegiate career.

Once she arrived to conference, the light clicked on for her and the team.

“When it got to conference, we knew what we had to do as a team,” McCartney said. “That conference meet was the best experience of my college career.”

Seven Hornets qualified as individualists for regionals in Seattle, Washington, where McCartney is originally from. Competing near her home where her family and friends were able to come attend and support her, helped McCartney get into a relaxed state of mind. She placed 6th at regionals and received an invitation to the NCAA Division I Championships.

“The whole season was a roller coaster and finished on a great note,” McCartney said. “I just wanted to soak it all in and enjoy the process with my coaches and teammates.”

Moving forward into the NCAA Championships, McCartney continued to adopt the mindset of “just another meet”, and enjoy her time competing on a big stage while getting to represent Sac State.

McCartney finished ninth in the all-around semi final’s with a score of 38.950.

Since nationals was held in the South and was Sac State’s first appearance, she received a lot of attention as competitors did not know what school she was from or who she was.

“Because nationals were held in Alabama, everyone’s leotards were a crimson red, or blue, so I kind of stood out,” McCartney said. “I was known as the “girl in green” at nationals.”

For her senior season, McCartney will be co-captains with her longtime friend and second-year captain Dallas Smith. But according to Smith, she has always held that leadership role and this year just made it official.

“She was always kind of an underlying captain and leader,” Smith said. “She’s fallen into the captain’s role seamlessly and doing what she can to help everyone.”

Being more aware of her teammates and how her decisions affect them is something she is quickly learning to pick up on.

“Me personally, I like to lead by example and don’t really like to tell people what to do,” McCartney said. “I just have to be aware of everything else that’s going on in the gym and know if something is off.”

Kayla Wonderly, a longtime friend of McCartney, believes that the leadership dynamic between Smith and McCartney compliment each other.

“Her and Dallas work really well together and has been a good balance,” Wonderly said.

“Kalliah is really work ethic based and showing by example, while Dallas is the more vocal one. It’s a very good mix between both of them.”

McCartney, Smith and Wonderly all have high expectations for this team and have confidence in the six freshmen new-comers to fit right in and help qualify for regionals this season.

“This is the most talented team we’ve had in the four years I’ve been here,” Smith said. “The fact that Kalliah did make it to nationals last year gives us the drive to make our routines the best we can. We know it’s possible to compete at an extra level.”

In addition to being a star gymnast, Kalliah will graduate in the spring with a double major in accounting and international business. The key to her success of balancing five-hour practice days and a double major is being excellent at time management.

“It’s been a bit of a struggle, but as a student-athlete you’re kind of used to managing your time really well,” McCartney said. “I tend to rely a lot on my family and friends for support.”