North Jersey Female Athlete of the Week

Sean Farrell /NorthJersey.com

Avery Lauterback’s varsity jacket is one of a kind. Her place in history is just as unique.

Lauterback is believed to be the first gymnast in Emerson’s history after starting as an independent last year with her coach/mom, Andrea.

This season, she was adopted by Wayne Hills, meaning she gets to compete in a team setting without impacting their final scores.

Her season debut last Thursday went beyond expectation. She twirled to the top against Ramapo, landing the high score in the vault, bars, beam and floor.

While Lauterback isn’t sure when the next Cavo will join her in the gymnasium, she is hoping to be an inspiration in the small Group 1 town.

“It feels really good,” Lauterback said. “It’s a great place to go to. I love being able to set an example so other girls, maybe in 20 years or whenever, can come and try to beat my records.”

Gymnastics may be new for Emerson, but Lauterback is hardly a novice in her sport. She picked it up at a young age and trains five days a week at the Paramus-based Eastern National Academy. Her mom laid out the path as a former gymnast at Demarest High and Temple University.

For Avery, the decision to compete on the high school level started out of envy – Lauterback and some of her club friends wanted a varsity jacket of their own. She considered cheerleading as a former ballet dancer, but decided against it. The junior wanted to show off the thing that takes up most of her time and energy outside the classroom.

“It’s really pretty,” Lauterback said. “It’s black and it has white sleeves and a red design. I have a gymnast on my back and my grad year. It’s nice to be able to wear it around because I know that no one in my school has one like it.”

Lauterback said there is no event she likes more than the bars. She placed first in it last year at the North 1 sectional meet on the way to the overall title.

Her confidence was renewed last Thursday after posting one of her highest all-around scores (37.45) on the first try this season. Lauterback admits she came in a little nervous after some last-minute additions to her routine.

“She is a strong competitor,” Andrea Lauterback said. “I feel like she can put her routines together when it counts. She had to make some changes and she kept her head in the game. She knew what she had to get done on beam. I was proud to see that.”

Lauterback is now a Level 10 gymnast − the highest in the junior Olympic program − and hopes to continue her career in college.

Lauterback said getting to this point has required a lot of dedication and training, both physically and emotionally, but she is grateful for the journey. Gymnastics has taught her lessons about managing pressure and staying level-headed.

“Tumbling on four inches of wood or, as my mom would say, four inches of floor is definitely a challenge,” Lauterback said. “It definitely has an element of being scared or being nervous. But my mom always told me when I was a kid that it’s good to to nervous, it’s good to be scared. It shows that you want it so bad. It shows how much you care about what you want.”

Avery Lauterback

Sport: Gymnastics

School: Emerson

Class: Junior. Age: 16

Accomplishment: Lauterback finished on top in all four events last Thursday with high scores in the vault (9.25), bars (9.3), beam (9.4) and floor exercise (9.5).