Athlete of the Week: UAA Gymnast Rachel Decious

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - University of Alaska Anchorage Gymnastics senior Rachel Decious ended her home career in style over the weekend by winning two individual events to help UAA to their first team win of the season.

Decious quite literally grew up a Seawolf, starting on the team as a freshman when she was 18 years old, and now the 22-year-old is a fifth-year senior captain on the team.

“I saw her you know from that baby freshman to now the fifth-year senior who’s become a true leader. We have worked together on beam all five years and we see her score increase after year after year after year,” UAA Gymnastics head coach Marie-Sophie Boggasch said.

In her last home meet, Decious won two individual events: the beam (her favorite event) with a score of 9.825, and the floor with a score of 9.850.

“We had a lot of sticks on Sunday and when we finished our routines we just felt like not a relief, but just like wow we worked so hard for this moment and we finally did it,” Decious said.

Every college gymnast goes through a few twists and turns throughout their career, but it’s fair to say that the fifth-year senior has been through more than the typical student-athlete. Not only did the pandemic drastically impact her sophomore season, but the program was cut by the board of regents with the stipulation that if they raised enough money they could keep competing. Decious and the rest of the team did just that, making calls and making history by keeping the program alive.

“She was one of the people who never doubted us which was amazing because it was a hard time and she was here until the end and thankfully it was a very positive end,” Boggasch said.

Decious says that after she graduates, she is planning on sticking around in Alaska and helping with the gymnastics team at least for a year.

However, her senior season isn’t done yet. The Seawolves take a week off before going out of state with meets against Simpson on Feb. 17 and Iowa State on Feb. 19.

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