Evie Saunders never could have imagined what would become of her switch from club gymnastics to the high school scene. It could hardly have ended any better for the Niwot sophomore.

Last month, Saunders led a stacked Cougars team to their first team championship since 2018, then won the Class 4A all-around on her own volition with a score of 37.100, the highest of any local athlete in either 4A or 5A.

For her solo and team accomplishments, she was named the BoCoPreps.com gymnast of the year.

“I did not expect I was going to be the all-around champion,” she said. “I actually didn’t know that they were doing individual awards. I only really knew that we were doing the team award. When I found out we were doing everything on the same day, I was definitely not super excited about that, but I was really excited to just compete and show off all my routines and how hard I’ve worked throughout the season.”

Her final event in vault, she said, didn’t render the 9.495 score she wanted, because she couldn’t complete her layout. She instead settled for a 9.075, good for a tie at eighth, then won beam (9.700), finished runner-up in floor (9.450) and placed 12th in bars (8.875).Beam has always been her favorite event.

“The beginning of my meet was really great, and then my last event didn’t go as planned,” Saunders said. “I just kind of didn’t even realize what was happening when they were calling out the all-around. It just kept going, like third, second, and then when it got to first, I was just so shocked. I was looking around at my friends. I couldn’t believe it.”

Her seasoned head coach, Marisa Purcell, said that while Saunders had an undeniable talent from the start, she still needed time to acclimate to the team-centric environment of the high school sport. She transitioned seamlessly into the squad.

“It was kind of learning the ropes of high school and how to do things, and she was really good,” Purcell said. “She just took every day head-on and didn’t really make a whole lot of noise. She just kind of went with what she needed to do and worked hard. She had the same goals with her team and didn’t talk much.”

For her, just like with the rest of the Cougars, the team always came first. They all reaped the benefit when it mattered most, when they banded together to defeat second-place Standley Lake by nearly five points and a 180.975 final tally.

“I think (an individual title) was never on her radar, which is what we always say,” Purcell said. “A lot of times, those things happen because you’re more worried about being there for your team than you are yourself. She showed that and she gave it all to her team and in the end, was rewarded.”