Mia Cantu takes a deep breath before taking off toward the vault. Her strides are short but powerful, and she gains so much momentum that she’s able to complete a double backflip off the vault, posing poetically after she lands perfectly on both feet.
“Beautiful,” people in the stands say after Cantu finishes the move.
The 14-year-old goes by the nickname “the vault monster” due to her ability to pull off moves such as a double backflip at such a young age.
“I love that nickname because I know I’m good at vault,” she said.
Cantu is ranked fifth in the state, and she will be representing Indiana at the United States of America Gymnastics level 9 regional gymnastics championships on Sunday in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Cantu needed to score a 35 or higher when she last competed at state, and she finished with a 37.
Despite exceeding the standard to qualify for regionals, Cantu didn’t feel like she performed at her best when it came to the four events: vault, bars, beam and floor. But on the other hand, Cantu felt like it was her best performance due to the fact that she was very confident in her approach to the event.
She’s hoping that confidence carries over into regionals on Sunday.
“I’m pretty excited but I’m also pretty nervous at the same time,” she said. “Certain events I feel really calm on, but there’s other events like beam that I get sort of nervous on.”
Big events like these have been 10 years in the making for Cantu, who got into gymnastics when she was just 4 years old.
Her mother, Teresa Cantu, said Mia was a ball of energy when she was a kid, so she had to put that energy into something.
“I had to find something to confine that energy, so I put her in a tumbling class and then it progressed from there into gymnastics,” Teresa said. “She’s always just loved it.”
There was no fear from Mia either once she started to get into the sport. Despite suffering some injuries and falling down at a young age, she always wanted to get back on the beam or on the bars.
“I realized that I loved it, and when I was five, I realized that I could do everything they could do,” Mia said. “I’m a daredevil.”
Mia grew up in Seymour, but she started practicing in Madison at Madison Gymnastics World. That kind of life became difficult for a young Mia. She would use a nightlight to do homework and eat in the car on her way to and from practice.
It got to the point where Teresa thought it’d be in the best interest for them to move to Madison so Mia can be closer to her training facility. Now, Mia can go home to eat before practice and be at home when she needs to do homework.
“I’ve also grown a lot closer bonds with people at the gym,” Mia said. “I like to listen to music a lot, and I’m just used to the schedule now.”
Madison doesn’t have a high school gymnastics team, but what Mia is doing right now is year-round. She needs to finish in the top seven on Sunday to qualify for nationals.
“If she’s on, she’ll make it,” Teresa said. “If she slips on that beam, we’ll try again next year.”
Mia believes her strengths are vault and floor. When she does her floor routine, she likes to express herself and put on a show for the audience, making sure they enjoy it as much as she does.
Heading into Sunday, she wants to keep focusing on her attitude and her performance on the bars. She credits her coach, Stephanie, and her mom for everything they’ve done for her growth in this sport.
“She’s a very fit young lady that loves this sport and I can’t imagine her not being a gymnast,” Teresa said. “I’m just excited, and she just deserves credit for this, and representing Indiana is pretty cool.”
No matter what happens on Sunday, Mia has already accomplished a lot in this sport for someone her age. When asked if she ever steps back to appreciate what she’s been able to accomplish, the hard-working competitor in her simply said, “I just keep going.”
She hopes to one day compete at the collegiate level, and after that she would be interested in coaching gymnastics.
“That’s a dream of mine,” she said.