Before Kristen Politz ever competed in a high school meet, a college gymnastics powerhouse wanted her.

Penn State craved Politz before she had barely taken any high school classes. And evidently, the Nittany Lions knew what they were doing.

This autumn, the St. John Vianney senior won both the Shore Conference Tournament and New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Asspciation Individual Championship all-around titles. It was her only opportunity to do so, as this was the first year that SJV had a varsity gymnastics team.

Her next scholastic meet will be with the Nittany Lions, who have finished in the Top 25 national rankings for 13 consecutive years.

“I was offered the scholarship from Penn State at the start of my freshman year,” said Politz, who officially signed on Nov. 11. “I verbally committed the summer after freshman year. I knew I wanted to go to Penn State. It is an amazing school that has an outstanding academic and athletic program. The gymnastics team is very well ranked and the coaches are wonderful.”

She will certainly bring some impeccable credentials to Happy Valley.

On Oct. 31, Kristen won the Shore Conference Tournament championship with a meet record score of 38.625, breaking the 2007 mark of 38.450 set by Howell High School’s Austyn Fobes. Politz took third on bars (9.500), fourth on beam (9.550), first on floor (9.675) and first on vault with another meet record. Her 9.900 in vault tied the 17-year-old mark set by Monmouth Regional’s Kim Kirzow.

“That was my first Shore Conference meet so I didn’t know what to expect,” Politz said. “However, I gave it my all and had a great meet. The greatest accomplishment from that meet was on the vault. I knew once I stuck that vault that I had the title and it felt amazing! Winning this meet gave me more confidence leading into states.”

And she rode that confidence in a big way, winning the NJSIAA meet with a score of 38.525 on Nov. 21 at Montgomery High school. Kristen won the floor (9.8), tied for second on vault (9.725), took fourth on beam (9.525) and tied for fifth on bars (9.475).

“It feels great to be the state champion and SCT champion because these were goals of mine throughout the whole high school season,” Politz said. “I worked very hard for the meets and I’m so happy that the results turned out as they did.

“Knowing that I had one chance at the state title put a little pressure on me. Now that I have won, it is very special to know that I had one shot and I was able to do it. It is also very special to achieve this goal as a senior in high school.”

The state meet was huge, but it wasn’t foreign territory for Politz. She has been competing in big events at a high level in club gymnastics for most of her life. She was familiar with some of her competition just from doing the sport for so long.

“I knew that there were a lot of very good gymnasts at this meet,” Politz said. “Anyone could take the title with four strong performances. I didn’t let this get to me and just went out there to do my best.”

It turned out her biggest threat came from her own team, as SJV freshman Ari Agrapides was right behind Kristen with a score of 38.5.

“Ari is a very talented gymnast and she had a great meet,” Politz said. “She is very fun to train with and I was so glad she could be a part of our team.”

Politz began doing gymnastics at age 3½, when her mom noticed that she was very energetic and that “gymnastics would be the perfect sport for me. I guess she was right!”

Kristen’s earliest memories came when she dominated the competition in winning the vault, bars, beam, floor and all-around competition to win the Level 4 NJ State Championship.

“After this, I knew that if I worked hard, I would have a successful gymnastics career,” Politz said. 

A member of St. Gabriel Parish, Marlboro, Kristen joined Rebound Gymnastics in her home town at age 4. She is entering her sixth year as a Junior Olympic Level 10 gymnast, which is the highest United States Amateur Gymnastics level.

Kristen has qualified for the Junior Olympic Nationals the past five years and has medaled numerous times on the uneven bars and floor at Nationals. At last year’s Level 10 state championships, she pulled off the rare feat of sweeping vault, bars, beam, floor and all-around with a score of 38.50.

Kristen hails from an athletic family as both brothers played sports and provided the blueprint for her wanting to compete. She is the lone gymnast among the Politzes but found inspiration from Olympic gymnasts such as Alicia Sacramone and Shawn Johnson.

She rates the floor as her best event, and it’s hard to dispute that since she received a 9.9 from one judge in both the sectional and state meets.

“My floor routines have been consistent all season but I have to say my state individual floor routine was one of my best,” she said.

The fact she was able to compete was fortuitous for both Politz and the SJV program, which should get more interested candidates thanks to the recognition Politz and Agrapides have provided.

“When I first went to St. John Vianney I didn’t plan on doing high school gymnastics,” Politz said. “However, sophomore year I did two high school meets as an individual and had so much fun! I knew I wanted to help start a team. I worked with our Athletic Director and by my senior year our team was set to go.”

And she was set to take full advantage of it.