The 2024-25 season saw Boise State gymnastics secure a regular-season Mountain West title, going 5-1 in conference meets. They were also the only team in the conference to go undefeated at home, compiling a 4-0 record at ExtraMile Arena.
However, head coach Tina Bird said the team doesn’t want to just barely win championships. They want to blow other teams out of the water.
As the team continues offseason preparation before their Jan. 9 season opener at Southern Utah, Bird describes this year’s team’s theme as “gritty up”.
“So far, we’re doing more work than we’ve probably done in the past five years,” Bird said. “They’re in the gym every day grinding. We’re doing more conditioning, more attention to detail, more leadership things … Their confidence is growing. I can see it.”
This year’s team boasts talent and prowess across all four events. Bird noted through this point of the offseason, she’s seen the most consistency out of her athletes on bars. While floor and beam have shown signs of promise as well, Bird added the team lacks depth at vault.
“If the flu were to hit the team this year, I’d be worried for vault,” Bird said, jokingly. “We just don’t have that many kids that are training it, we’ve recruited heavily in the vault for the future.”
Despite the room for improvement on vault, there’s no question that the Broncos have athletes who will give opponents a run for their money.
When asked which gymnasts will have the biggest impacts on the team this year, Bird had no hesitation mentioning sophomore Kristina Shchennikova first.
After just one full season at Boise State, Shchennikova has established herself as one of the top gymnasts in the Mountain West. Her performance last year garnered her a plethora of accolades, including Mountain West Co-Freshman of the Year, All-Mountain West Bars Second Team, and eight Mountain West Specialist of the Week awards.
Appearing in all 13 meets for Boise State last year, Shchennikova scored a 9.775 on bars in her collegiate debut. In her beam debut, she scored a 9.900 and won the title at the tri-meet at Air Force on Feb. 9, marking the highest Bronco freshmen debut score since 1987.
Shchennikova spoke on the team’s mindset and noted how a shared sense of passion will distinguish the team from its competition this upcoming season.
“Everyone’s just fired up and ready to do more,” Shchennikova said. “I think that fire in us is really going to set us apart. We have what it takes to win and we’re getting to know that more as pre-season goes on.”
Another impact gymnast Bird mentioned will be junior Julia Krzywanski. After injury-plagued freshman and sophomore seasons, the Sarasota, Florida native, now healthy, is having what Bird calls the best pre-season she’s had yet.
“She is a powerhouse,” Bird said. “She has a huge vault, she’s got great tumbling and she’s also a great beam worker. She’s going to come out and be somebody we can count on in three events.”
Last season, Krzywanski competed in eight meets and scored a 9.550 on beam in her collegiate debut against Georgia. Before her career as a Bronco, Krzywanski was a regional bar champion and qualified for nationals, where she finished 10th AA representing Golden City Gymnastics.
Krzywanski, who hasn’t competed floor in over two years due to a prior achilles injury, expressed excitement to be returning to what she calls her favorite event. She credits a shift in perspective as a confidence-booster for her coming into this season.
“Last year, coming off an injury, it was rough because I was still in pain and didn’t know if my foot could handle everything,” Krzywanski said. “Coming into this year, I wanted to change my mindset to, ‘I’m grateful, I’m happy to be here’, and I want to be present and enjoy everything I’m doing.”
The Broncos, who recently welcomed five gymnasts to their 2026 recruiting class on National Signing Day, will open their season on Jan. 9 at Southern Utah. With this year’s Mountain West Championship being held in Boise at ExtraMile Arena, Boise State gymnastics will have added incentive to elevate its game.
