Emily Parsons is an Academy Northwest student (class of 2004) in Missouri who is also a serious gymnast. In June of 2002, one day after qualifying into the US Classic, a national meet for elite gymnasts, Emily suffered a torn Achilles tendon. The injury required surgery and many month of rehabilitation, including a doctor's restriction on high-impact tumbling. Since it took her out of elite level competition for both the 2002 and the 2003 seasons, Emily dropped back to Level 10.

However, the 2002-2003 Junior Olympic year turned into her best year ever with her highest scores in almost every event and in the all-around categories. This spring she won all events and the al- around at both the state and regional meets. At the JO National Championships in May, she was 2nd on vault, 9th on bars, 3rd on beam and 1st on floor exercise and 1st in the all-around. She is therefore on the JO National Team.

The year has also been one of many e-mails and letters from major universities pursuing her for their gymnastics teams. July was especially busy with phone calls and visits from 11 different universities offering official visits and full scholarships. The decision on a choice of school will be determined after official visits to 5 of her favorites in September. Possible choices include Nebraska, Oklahoma, Auburn, Arkansas, Arizona, LSU, Florida and Denver.