|
Personal Information
| Name |
Thea Bender |
| Birthday |
May 6, 2004 |
| Hometown |
Madison, Wisconsin |
| Parents |
Boyd and Toni Bender |
| School |
Madison LaFollette High School |
| Grad Year |
Class of 2022 |
| GPA |
4.0 GPA | |
Gym Information
| Gym |
Madtown Twisters West |
| Coaches |
Sarah Nelson, Chelsie Nowak, Natasha Teasdale |
| Level |
Level 10 (2021-Current) |
| Choreographer |
Natasha Teasdale |
| Floor Music |
Mix by Tony Ritschard |
| Hours Trained |
12 hours per week |
| Gym Goal |
College Gymnastics | |
Thea started fundamentals class at 1.5 years old and began competing around when she turned eight years old. Her parents started Thea in class to build a strong foundation for sports, but she loved gymnastics more than any other sport she tried. After not medaling at her first team meet, Thea's competitive nature took over and she was determined to become the best gymnast she could be and she has never looked back. Thea was the 2015 Level 6 WI Uneven Bars Silver Medalist, 2016 Level 7 WI State Qualifier and 2017 Level 8 WI State Vault Champion.
As a level 9 gymnast in 2018, Thea placed fourth on vault at the State Championships. She qualified to the Region 4 Championships, finishing fifth on vault and ninth on balance beam. During the 2019 and 2020 seasons, Thea focused on high school gymnastics. During her freshman year in 2019, she finished second in the all-around, first on balance beam and fourth on uneven bars at the LaCrosse Regionals. She qualified to the High School State Championships. During Thea's sophomore year in 2020, she won the uneven bars title at the Middleton Regionals and qualified to the High School State Championships.
When Thea isn't busy training in the gym, she enjoys shopping, hanging out with her friends, playing viola and working at a retail clothing store. Thea is the daughter to Boyd and Toni Bender and she has two sisters, Halle and Drew. Currently, Thea is an honor student at Madison LaFollette and she will graduate from high school in 2022. She has earned multiple school awards including:
School Achievements
High Honor Roll every semester
National Honor Society
High School Gymnastics Team Captain (Junior)
Varsity Letter in gymnastics (Freshman, Sophomore)
Varsity Letter in track & field (Freshman)
Track & field team “Newcomer of the Year"
Track & Field Achievements
2019 Second leading scorer for Madison LaFollette High School girls track team
2019 WIAA Sun Prairie Regional (D1): 3rd in long jump, 4th in triple jump (Sectional qualifier)
2019 WIAA Badger Sectional (D1): 7th in long jump, 4th in triple jump
