Showing the love
Central Michigan University gymnastics senior Hannah Appleget has been on the mat since she was 3 years old.
What started as recreational classes bribed by her parents as a potty-training tool, Appleget grew to become a Level 10 gymnast, the highest level in club gymnastics.
“We went from ‘Oh wow, I’m potty trained, I’m in rec classes,’ to ‘I’m going to be in the Olympics one day,’ ” Appleget said. “Eventually I realized that so few people get to do that, and instead I figured college is a better goal.”
A native of Mays Landing, N.J., Appleget competed at Level 10 for four years. According to her biography, the graduate of Atlantic City Institute of Technology was a two-time Level 10 regional qualifier and three-time Level 10 state qualifier, all while maintaining National Honor Society and National Technical Honors Society status.
She competed for Jersey Shore Elite from 2013 to 2020, and Precision Gymnastics from 2020-21, according to her athlete biography.
The top tier of competition, she said, continued to develop her skills for college.
She switched gymsin her senior year of high school, and through connections there landed at Lindenwood University where Appleget spent three years on its gymnastics team.
“I was like ‘OK, I’m going to give this school a chance and see what it’s all about,’ ” Appleget said. “Obviously, I ended up going there for three years and I really enjoyed that experience, but then the program was shut down last year.”
Becoming a Chippewa
Appleget found herself in the transfer portal, which ultimately led her to CMU. Mount Pleasant became her landing spot for her senior year.
“It was definitely shocking, but in the grand scheme of things maybe not too surprising,” Appleget said.
When she committed to Lindenwood and during her freshman year, it was a Division II university.
“Sometime during that season (freshman year) they announced that the entire university was going Division I, which seemed like a really great thing,” Appleget said. “But they had a really big athletic department, which they could sustain at the Division II level. ... It ended up proving not to be sustainable at Division I.”
Nontheless, Appleget has no regrets.
“It was truly a great experience,” Appleget said. “The improvements that I had over the years... Then (in) junior year, I ended up getting to do all-around a little bit.”
In Appleget’s sophomore year, the Lions won a national title. During her last year, the team took both conference and national titles.
After entering the transfer portal, Appleget committed to Central Michigan to compete for Christine MacDonald and the Chippewas for her final year.
“I had a couple options toward the end of my experience. I had two or three main (colleges and universities), but then ultimately this is the one I had fallen in love with, and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to say no,” Appleget said.
She knew she made the right decision through being able to contribute to the history of CMU gymnastics and be a part of that family.
“I love the gymnastics team and the legacy that this program holds and being able to contribute to that,” Appleget said. “Even just being able to walk on campus, I’ll just be walking to or from class, and I can just look around and say, ‘yeah I made the decision by coming here.’”
Tumbling into the record books
Appleget helped the Chippewas to their third Mid-American Conference title in four years, winning the 2025 title in McGuirk Arena in March.
“When I got here, I was like ‘yeah conference is the goal’ and that was kind of what the team had,” she said. “We had the same vision ... that day.”
Appleget was the tournament All-Around champion and was named to the All-MAC tournament team.
“I absolutely did not think I was going to win an all-around title too,” Appleget said. “I’d only won two in college before that day, and there hadn’t been a single time all season that I had the highest all-around score in the MAC for that week, and so that was just like
completely off my radar.”
Appleget scored a career-high 39.250 competing in all four events. She was third on floor, capturing a 9.900 on the event.
“I had actually walked into that meet not even knowing if I was doing all-around or not, because there were a few of us that were challenging for a lineup spot on vault,” Appleget said. “I just ended up having a really solid day.”
Gymnastics has taught Appleget life lessons that she carries with her outside of the gym.
“The biggest one has been learning how to cherish the journey and embracing the process as well,” she said. “Selflessness, learning how to lean on others, but also learning how to support others and being able to build those relationships. Lastly, patience, because I’ve had to wait a long time to be able to achieve some of my goals, but then I ended up getting them, and it was absolutely worth the wait.”
Appleget’s journey with CMU gymnastics ended on a high note, and she plans to graduate in December with a degree in biology.
“I’ve just learned so much,” she said, “and grown so much as both an athlete and a person.”
