GYM DANDY: Canton gymnast is artistic on and off the mats
Canton senior Lia Pinkosky has qualified for the individual state meet in three different events.
The daughter of a high school art teacher, Lia Pinkosky knows how to use a gymnastics mat as a palette to paint eye-catching scores.
A gymnast since the age of 5 when she was introduced to the sport at Canton’s Splitz Gymnastics, it was love at first somersault for the personable Canton High School senior who is looking to extend her Division 1 state meet streak to four in the coming weeks.
“I fell in love with gymnastics as soon as I tried it,” said Pinkosky. “I love that there’s always something new to learn, something new to reach for.”
Pinkosky has placed the D1 individual state finals in each of her first three years as a Chief, excelling on the balance beam as a freshman, uneven bars as a sophomore and in the floor exercise and beam last year.
“Lia is very solid in all the events,” said Canton Head Coach Janelle Maryanski. “She’s a fast-learner. She attempted a new vault before our first meet against Salem (in December) and it was exciting.”
Like mother, like daughter
Not surprisingly, Pinkosky loves art — her mom teaches the subject at Farmington High School — along with science and math.
“I love all kinds of art — whatever I feel like on any particular day,” she said, smiling. “My mom paints a lot and her artwork is displayed throughout our house.”
Go Green … or Blue!
As for Pinkosky’s future education, there’s a good chance she’ll be staying in-state.
“I’ve already been accepted at Michigan State, which has a residential college that is science-based,” she said. “I’m still waiting to hear from the University of Michigan, so I haven’t committed to Michigan State yet.”
Fighting through injuries
Like many gymnasts, Pinkosky has been forced to perform through injuries, although you’d never know it from her stellar scores.
“I injured my ankle really bad last year and the year before, so I struggled with that for a while,” she said. “This year, I’m wearing a brace — at least early in the season.”
Throughout her first three years of high school, Pinkosky competed under the guidance of longtime Canton gymnastics coach John Cunningham, who passed away unexpectedly last fall.
She misses Coach Cunningham
“I loved everything about him,” she said. “Most of all, I loved his positive energy. He loved all of his gymnasts. When we’d walk into practice, he’d ask us how our days were going. His wife and son stopped by one of our first practices after he passed away and she told us to keep working hard and to keep our head up because that’s what he would have wanted.
“I still feel his presence in this room. He was a special person.”
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com
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