When injuries led Saige Polanik to quit club gymnastics, she found plenty of other ways to stay active.
“Most of my life, I was a competitive gymnast,” Polanik said. “That took up my whole life. When I got into high school, that’s when I started cheer and judo and dive and powerlifting. I just thought, ‘I’m in high school; I should try new things.’ ”
Her fearlessness, athleticism and work ethic have helped her succeed in all those pursuits.
Polanik is in her second season on the Kamiakin High School diving team. She joined with a little prompting from the Braves’ gymnastics and dive coach, Sarah Garrett.
“When I first started, it came pretty easily to me,” Polanik said. “One thing I hate is messing up on a dive and smacking into the water.”
She doesn’t miss much in competition. Last year, she finished 11th at the Class 3A state meet.
This fall, Polanik was the top 3A diver at the Mukilteo Invitational in Federal Way, finishing second overall to Ali Brandt of 4A Wenatchee. She’s also set to return to state, earning a qualifying score at last month’s 11-dive meet in Richland.
Her coach says Polanik is a standout pupil in practice, eager to tackle new dives and perfect familiar ones.
“She tries a lot of things and has great body awareness in the air and knows how things feel,” Garrett said.
Garrett also is thankful that Polanik hasn’t given up gymnastics for good. She helped Kamiakin win the past two 1A/2A/3A state team titles, and she was eighth in the all-around as a freshman in 2013 and a junior last winter.
“She’s very respectful and very easy to coach,” Garrett said. “I guess the only time we would butt heads is if she has an injury or is a little sore, and I don’t want her to do something. She does it all or nothing, all the time.”
Polanik’s can-do, will-do attitude has contributed to her rapid rise in powerlifting.
“Both my parents used to be powerlifters back in their day, so my dad thought it would be cool for me to give it a try,” she said. “I tried it and liked it.”
In March, she began training for the Washington State Summer Strength Wars, a United States Powerlifting Association event held in August in Kennewick.
The 5-foot, 2 1/2 -inch Polanik set a USPA American record for her age group when she benched 126.76 pounds. She also secured state records with her squat (236.99), deadlift (270.06) and overall total (633.82) in the 148 Junior Women 16-17 Classic Raw division.
“She is the best up-and-coming powerlifter I have seen who is very good at these events with minimal powerlifting programming behind her,” said USPA state chairman Roger Baker, who owns RAB Fitness in Kennewick with his wife, Ally. “So (she is) a natural at them. Sky’s the limit for her.”
Polanik is keeping up with her strength workouts in preparation for future competitions. Her powerlifting has added a new dimension to her diving.
“She has gotten so much stronger since last year on the dive board,” Garrett said. “If she can’t get something, she just muscles it, and that’s how it works. I see a lot more strength in her.”
Polanik also has been involved in judo for about two years, training at Tri-City Judo in Kennewick and working her way up to green belt. She hopes to go to nationals next summer.
When she’s not at the pool or the dojo, Polanik is practicing with the Elite Force Cheer team she joined this year. The squad begins competition in January.
“I just like to keep myself busy, and I’m not basing myself off other people,” said Polanik, who would like to dive or cheer in college. “I set goals for myself and keep those goals.”
Right now, Polanik is focused on winning a state diving championship next month in Federal Way. She’s putting in the work on her dives, but a victory won’t happen without confidence on the board.
No one, especially Polanik, doubts she has nerves of steel.
“I’ve pretty much told myself, ‘You can do this. You have this,’ ” she said. “It’s all mental. That’s how I see sports — it’s all mental, not physical.”
Courtesy of: Tri-City Herald