DiCello ‘in very elite company’

High school sophomore is pushing to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic team

At Northwest High School in Germantown, Kayla DiCello is not your typical sophomore navigating the rigors of science, math and foreign languages. She is more widely known by her peers as “that gymnast girl.”

It is a crude yet fitting description for the 15-year-old Boyds resident who capped her meteoric rise in gymnastics by capturing the gold medal at the U.S. junior national championships last month in Kansas City. That development has prompted classmates to ask her for autographs.

“Everyone knows me because I do gymnastics,” DiCello said a little sheepishly with a laugh. “It’s pretty cool.”

The victory has propelled DiCello into an exclusive group of gymnasts that has turned that crown into more success on the senior level as she pushes for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team headed for the 2020 Tokyo Games. NBC Sports analyst Tim Daggett called DiCello’s win “a very big deal.”

“If you look at the history of gymnasts that have won at the junior level, it’s astounding what they have gone on to do,” said Daggett, who helped the U.S. men’s gymnastics team win the 1984 Olympic gold medal and captured the bronze in the pommel horse. “She’s in very elite company right now and has a lot of great qualities.”

DiCello will have to compete against Simone Biles, the reigning Olympic all-around gold medalist and current U.S. champion, at the U.S. Olympic trials in June if she wants to qualify for the 2020 Olympics.

“She’s a very calm competitor, and she comes from Hills Gymnastics with Kelli Hill, and Kelli’s just about one of the top gymnastics developers that I know,” Daggett said. “She just has a very good way about her and knows how to get somebody ready for an event and knows