The 2004 Southeast Missouri State gymnastics season was certainly a year to remember. The '04 squad brought Southeast its first winning season in the sport since 1998, and the best winning percentage since 1991 - the same year Southeast was Division II National Champions.

In all, Southeast compiled a record of 15-7, good for a .682 winning percentage. The Otahkians were 5-2 in duel meets, and a perfect 5-0 when competing at home in Houck Field House.

The 2004 team holds three of the school's top eight team scores, and appears in the record book 12 times among team categories. Four different individuals cracked the record books this year, combining for 11 entries among the school's elite. 2004 senior Ashley Godwin set school records in both the uneven bars and floor exercise during the campaign, giving her six marks in the record book this year alone. When she completed her final season as an Otahkians in April, she finished as the greatest Southeast gymnast in school history-appearing in the record books 13 times. Juniors Alexis Traylor and Katie Bloom and sophomore Tara Boldt also placed their names in Southeast history with record performances during the 2004 school year.

The 2004 season was an impressive one from start to finish. The squad opened up competition December 4, 2003 with the annual Intrasquad Meet - giving fans a chance to get a sneak peek at the team before season competition officially began. The Silver team topped the Black team 149.850 to 146.950, and Tara Boldt took home the best all-around score, as well as top vault and beam score. Freshmen Brystol Powelski and Natalie Watts also made strong first impressions on the crowd as each had outstanding individual performances. Powelski wowed the crowd with a magnificent routine on bars, winning the event with a 9.750 score. Watts tied for second on floor with a 9.700 routine and had the top all-around score for the Black team.

Just more than a month after the Black vs. Silver Intrasquad meet, the team opened up regular-season competition. After a last minute cancelation of a meet with Winona State on January 16, Southeast was able to compete at Hamline University of a quadrangular meet. The Otahkians dominated the four-team meet, taking first place in all four events. However, Southeast's score of 185.075 was the worst score the squad would post all season long.

A week later the team held its first home meet of the season, as it hosted Bowling Green to Houck field House. Southeast improved its team score to top the Falcons 194.175 to 191.425. At the time, the score was the 10th best team score in Southeast history. The Otahks won three of the four events and performed particularly well on balance beam, scoring 48.850 on the event - the fifth best score in school history.

Two days later the Otahks took their perfect 4-0 record to the University of Missouri. Despite scoring an outstanding 194.300 - the 10th highest score in school history to that point - Southeast picked up its first loss of the season to the Tigers. Despite the loss, several performers brought home high marks. Katie Bloom scored a 9.875 on vault - the highest Southeast vault score of the 2004 campaign. Her score stands at No. 6 in the school record books. Tara Boldt, Alexis Traylor and Lexie Hein all had outstanding performances while at Missouri. Boldt scored a 9.900 on beam - the fifth highest mark at Southeast on the event. Traylor showed just how outstanding her floor routine could be as she earned a 9.925 from the judges, and Lexie Hein posted a 9.500 while competing for the first time on vault.

Southeast returned home for its second of five home meets. On January 30, against Hamline University, Southeast dominated the meet with a 195.025 team score. The team scored season-bests on both bars and beam at the meet, with marks of 49.000 on each. Ashley Godwin took home the all-around title, with a 39.225 - ninth best at Southeast. The 49.000 on bars was second best in Southeast history and the 49.000 was fourth best. The team score that the Otahks put up stands as the sixth best mark in school history.

With a 5-1 record Southeast headed on the road. After a tough loss at Illinois-Chicago, the Otahkians brought home a pair of wins against Illinois State and Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Southeast took first in vault, bars and floor, while earning the top three individual spots in the all-around as well. With a 7-2 record heading home against Centenary, good things seemed to be on the horizon.

On Valentine's Day, the Southeast Missouri State squad captured the hearts of many of its home fans. Scoring a season-high 195.350, the team performed magnificently on vault, beam and floor. The team score earned the squad third all-time at Southeast, just three tenths of a point away from second place. On vault, the team posted a season-best 48.625 - good for 10th all-time at Southeast. On beam, led by Ashley Godwin's school record of 9.925, the team scored a 48.750 - good for ninth all-time. But both of those outstanding marks paled in comparison to the show the Southeast squad put on during the floor routines. Alexis Traylor performed brilliantly to earn a 9.950 - fifth best at Southeast. Not to be outdone, Godwin tied her second school record of the night by scoring a perfect 10.0 on floor. As the crowd erupted to her flawless score, Southeast as a team tied the all-time mark on floor exercise with a 49.950 mark. Godwin's all-around score of 39.450 placed her third all-time in that category.

The following week, Godwin had another outstanding all-around performance, coming up just one tenth of a point short of her score the prior week. Godwin and Boldt tied for first on beam, with scores of 9.900 - tying for fifth best in school history. The team also performed well on bars, posting a 48.750 on the event - good for ninth-best all time.

One week later, the Otahks hosted their fifth and final home meet of the season, and didn't disappoint the fans. The team improved its record to 10-2 with a win over conference foe Illinois State. The team score of 194.850 was the eighth-best in school history, winning three of four events. The win was a fitting farewell for seniors Ashley Godwin and Jacklynn Doebbler and junior Traci Jo Flippo.

As well as finishing the rest of the season on the road, Southeast would also face some of the nation's top gymnastics programs. On March 5, Southeast took second place in a four-team meet. Arkansas topped Southeast by two full points, but the Otahks brought home two wins by scoring better than Centenary and Texas Women's University.

On March 13, Southeast took on Michigan State, Ohio State and Eastern Michigan, only to fall short to all three. A respectable score of 194.150 was too little to top any of the much larger schools. However, the intense competition served Southeast well in preparing for the Midwest Independent Championships at Illinois State on March 20. Southeast took second in the conference, falling to just Illinois-Chicago in the standings. Godwin, Boldt and Traylor all earned all-conference honors, while each also earned a spot at the NCAA Regionals meet at the University of Arizona. Godwin and Boldt performed as all-around competitors and Traylor competed on floor.

Although no Southeast athlete made it to Nationals, it was clearly an outstanding season for the 2004 Southeast gymnastics program. Despite saying goodbye to Godwin, Doebbler and Flippo, the 2005 squad will return numerous high-level competitors, as good things look to be on the way for the gymnastics program at Southeast.

With a high-profile assistant coach in Andreé Pickens joining the Southeast coaching staff, look for 2005 to be yet another record-breaking year for the talented Southeast squad.