AOTW: ‘The best gymnast Alaska’s had in years’: Meika Lee taking 4th trip to Development Team Nationals
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Tucked away in the Excel Gymnastics Gym in Palmer, Meika Lee has been training much like she’s done for the last decade.
“My parents just put me and my twin brother in the sport when I was 4″, gymnast Meika Lee said. “We had a lot of energy and they needed somewhere for that energy to go.”
At a young age, that’s how many athletes get their start — tossed into a sport simply because mom and dad said so. But for Lee, it quickly became more than just an after school activity. She’s been a Level 10 gymnast now since early 2020, a degree of difficulty on par with that of NCAA rules.
But if you ask her coach, her talent was already showing before she started her competitive career at the age of 6.
“When she was 7, I looked at the parents and said ‘you’ve got a daughter that’s talented,” said Excel founder Robert Davila.
“I knew I really wanted to make it to Level 10, that was my main goal,” Lee said.
Now in 2024, her skills continue to shine. Just last month Lee finished as the top gymnast at the USA Women’s Region 2 Championship, earning an all around score of 38.750 while finishing first in all but one event. She’s also competed at the state level five times, winning each one. And now as the sixth ranked gymnast nationally in her age group, she’s turning her attention to Daytona Beach for another go at the 2024 Women’s Development Program National Championships, her fourth time appearing on the national stage.
“Last year I did pretty well. I got sixth all around and placed fifth on bars and floor,” Lee said.
The event will be attended by countless scouts from the collegiate level, including UAA and the reigning National Champion LSU Tigers. Lee however has already decided where she’ll be taking her talents to next — The University of Pittsburgh.
“I thought that Pitt was going to be my warmup visit. But I ended up comparing all my other visits to Pitt and I really loved the atmosphere of the team. The coaches are great and their really trying to take the program to the next level,” Lee said.
Her coaches are optimistic her growth will continue once she reaches college.
“I hope when she goes to college that she’s going to take her talent and actually take it to the next level,” Davila said, “She’s not tapped out yet, there’s a lot of fantastic athlete there.”
Yet while Davila is excited to see her succeed, her departure from Excel will be bittersweet. Lee has been around since before Davila expanded to the present day complex in the early 2010s and is the only remaining gymnast to have trained in the prior facility. In more ways than one, Lee and the gym she competes for have grown up together. The legacy she leaves in the building is something Davila says should inspire many who follow in her footsteps.
“She’s in a gym where she had no Level 10 with her to look up to,” Davila said. “She leaves that legacy behind to where you can do it, you don’t have to be at a big gym. You can be at a mom and pop’s like my place.”
But that hasn’t stopped her.
“It’s kinda crazy that I’ve been here this long. Alaska doesn’t have that many Level 10 gymnasts, so I’m just really glad that I’ve been able to make it all the way to this point.” Lee said.
A point that to her coach has earned her the title of best in the state.
“I believe she is the best gymnast Alaska’s had in years, if not ever,” Davila said.
And though she said she’s never thought of herself as a role model, she’s set an example for other to emulate, starting with rule #1 — get up.
“Get up when you fall down. I think gymnastics teaches you a lot of good life lessons and that’s definitely one I’ve learned,” Lee said. “Reach for your goals and try to accomplish everything that you want to. Just because you live in Alaska doesn’t mean that you can’t be that next level.”
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