Freshman all-around Halle Gregoire came from chilly Minnesota to the desert this offseason with nothing but excitement to be a part of the Sun Devil family. This season, she is dedicated to making her name known on the Gym Devil roster.
Gregoire loved gymnastics from a young age, when her parents introduced her to the sport. Gregoire says she has always seen gymnastics as an escape; every time she stepped onto the mat, she left the rest of the world at the door. She said this season's more experienced team could make the difference for them later in the year.
"Our senior class is large and has lots of experience," Gregoire said. "I knew it would be a special season to be a part of."
Right when Gregoire got to Tempe she immediately felt like she belonged at ASU, getting along quickly with her newly found teammates.
“Right from the second I stepped on campus, it felt like family right away, " Gregoire said. “The teammates are fun, dedicated and hardworking like me, and I felt like I can make an impact here.”
Gregoire has made her biggest first impressions on the vault and floor, making her debut against Central Michigan with a score of 9.775 on vault. The series against Utah State and Southern Utah, however, was her personal best, where she scored a career-high 9.925 on vault — the highest score of all events.
Gregoire is staying consistent and focused on only competing on vault and floor as she continues to heal from minor injuries she had before the regular season.
“She’s a dynamic, quick and very powerful gymnast,” head coach Jay Santos said. “She has handled the transition into freshman year very well with her amount of drive and always going head first. She handles competition very well, and I want to see her continue the path she is on.”
As one of the four freshman girls on the team, Gregoire relies heavily on her veteran teammates to guide her. With all the pressure that comes with being a new member, she is thankful for how welcoming each one of them has been.
Senior all-around Anaya Smith happens to be one of those upperclassmen gymnasts who's been a great part of Gregoire’s journey as a Devil.
"Halle is really hard on herself," Smith said. "But she is just such an amazing gymnast. I have to remind her to relax, trust the process and just have fun. It’s been really fun getting to guide her, and I look forward to seeing her show off the kind of gymnast she can be."
With the support of her coaches and teammates, Gregoire has built a strong confidence for herself as she heads deeper into the season, hoping she can become a leader on the team someday.
“I believe I am a very hard worker,” Gregoire said. “I feel that doing certain things in the gym will help bring up our level of gymnastics. Hopefully, girls can see me as someone to follow one day.”
Edited by Vinny DeAngelis, Sadie Buggle and Shane Brennan
Reach the reporter at linunez@asu.edu and follow @laurentahuka on X.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on X.
