GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Erin Geary, left, and Ina Higashi-Izumi enjoyed their time together but will go their separate ways after graduation.

Twist of fate

Geary, Higashi-Izumi and Jacobs became friends
as Hawaiian Island Twisters teammates

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By Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.com

Like a lot of high school seniors, Erin Geary is eagerly awaiting the day she jets off to college.

With graduation day swiftly approaching, the gymnast is already contemplating the academic and athletic challenges that lie ahead.

"It'll be fun to make new friends," she said. "I'm really looking forward to it, it'll be different, though."

One of the biggest differences will be not having Hawaiian Island Twisters teammates Sierra Jacobs and Ina Higashi-Izumi in the same gym.

The Twisters' senior trio have been tumbling together since elementary school, but are preparing to go their separate ways next summer.

"I've known them since I was little and we've grown up together, so they're like my sisters," Jacobs said. "It's kind of hard, because they've always been there. We've shared the good and bad times together."

Higashi-Izumi (Kalani) has a scholarship at Cal State Fullerton waiting for her in the fall. Jacobs (Maryknoll) is headed for Brigham Young and Geary (Punahou) has been accepted by Stanford, where she'll walk on to the gymnastics team as a freshman and compete for a scholarship as a sophomore.

HIT coach Joe Rapp has sent gymnasts to college programs before, but never three in the same class.

"That's what I'm in this sport for," Rapp said. "That's what it's about, getting them into college so they feel the reward is worth the effort."

The road to the collegiate level has often been grueling, as the trio continues to train together four hours a day for five, sometimes six, days a week. But having two friendly faces always nearby has helped them push through the rough spots.

"They're always there to help you and console you when you're having problems," Higashi-Izumi said.

Jacobs was the first to join Rapp's program, getting her start in gymnastics at age 8. Geary's first experience in the sport came when she was 2 years old in a mom and tots program at Gymnastics Academy of Hawaii. She started with Rapp at 9 and Higashi-Izumi joined soon after.

The trio bonded in and out of the gym over years spent training and traveling around the country for regional and national meets.

PHOTO COURTESY SUSAN HOROWITZ Hawaiian Island Twisters teammates, left to right, Ina Higashi-Izumi, Erin Geary and Sierra Jacobs.

During their sessions in practice or competition, having teammates of similar skill pushes them to excel. Once the meets are over, having friends to celebrate or commiserate with provides a catharsis from the stress of competition.

"We always have dinners together and relief parties after the competitions," Geary said.

While Rapp describes Higashi-Izumi as the quiet one of the group and Geary as the intense competitor, all three agree that Jacobs fills the role as the comic relief.

"They're all very, very different," Rapp said. "That's why I think they all get along so good."

One of the clearest memories of their travels together involves Jacobs' attempt to learn to ski during a trip to Alaska.

"Sierra kept falling down and she was getting really frustrated and by the time we were done her hands were all bluish," Higashi-Izumi said.

Added Geary: "We were at the bottom of the hill and Sierra fell face forward and didn't move for like five minutes. She's the clown."

But there is a method to Jacobs' seeming madness.

"I just do it to make them laugh," she said. "In competition we get stressed out easily, so I try to ease the pain. I embarrass myself by acting dumb just to make them forget about what they're stressing about."

Things will get serious again next week as HIT takes part in the Maui Invitational Jan. 3-5 in Wailuku. The gymnastics season continues through the spring, culminating with the Junior Olympic National Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo., in the first weekend in May.

All three have reached All-American status at the national championships during their careers. Geary placed eighth in the uneven bars at last year's nationals. Higashi-Izumi is the defending state champion at level 10, just one rung below elite status.

"They're at a point now in their training where I really don't have to do anything," Rapp said. "They know how to train, they know how they need to prepare for a competition, they know what's coming up next year in college. ... They're pretty much set, they're good to go."

And throughout their travels and triumphs the trio has toiled with the expectation that their work in the gym would yield more than just a full trophy case.

"I think they really understand the importance of getting a college education and going through life that way, with a head start," Rapp said.