Personal Information

Birthday June 15, 2007
Hometown Haymarket, Virginia
Parents Pamela and Paul Nisson
School Battlefield High School
Graduation Year Class of 2025
GPA 4.3 GPA - Principal’s Honor Roll

Gym Information

Gym GMS Gymnastics
Coaches Azin Manafi, Linda Ayers, B.J. Hall
Level Level 10 (2021-Current)
Choreographer Emma Hoffman
Hours Trained 20 hours per week
Gym Goals JO Nationals & College Gymnastics


Calissa got into gymnastics to burn off some energy at the age of three. She loved it so much that she never wanted to leave the gym. She soon found herself on pre-team and continued on the team path ever since. She has been training at GMS Gymnastics in Manassas, VA her whole gymnastics career. She was the 2014 Level 3 VA State Balance Beam Champion, 2015 Level 4 VA State Uneven Bars & Floor Exercise Champion and 2016 Level 7 VA State Uneven Bars Champion.

As a level 7 gymnast in 2017, Calissa placed sixth in the all-around with a 37.700 and second on vault and floor exercise at the State Championships. She moved up to level 8 for the 2018 season where she finished second in the all-around with a 37.700 and second on floor exercise at the State Championships. At the Region 7 Championships, Calissa finished seventh overall with a 37.575 and third on uneven bars. She continued competing level 8 for the 2019 season where she placed third in the all-around with a 38.300 and first on balance beam at the State Championships. She was on the Virginia State Team for the Region 7 Championships where she placed second in the all-around with a 38.175 and first on vault. Calissa was named to America's Top 100 on vault.

In 2020, Calissa qualified to the Level 9 State Championships but was unable to compete due to COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Calissa placed fourth in the all-around with a 37.100, second on uneven bars and third floor exercise at the Level 9 State Championships. At the Region 7 Championships, she finished second in the all-around with a 37.000, second on vault and third on uneven bars. This qualified Calissa to the Level 9 Eastern Nationals in College Park, GA where she finished eighth on vault and tenth on uneven bars.

As a first-year level 10 gymnast in 2022, Calissa placed seventh in the all-around, third on vault and fourth on floor exercise at the State Championships. She qualified to the Region 7 Championships where she finished sixth on floor exercise and 11th overall.

When Calissa isn't busy training 20 hours each week in the gym, she enjoys cooking, baking and arts & crafts. She is the daughter to Pamela and Paul Nisson and she has a brother, Calvin, a sister, Collette, two rescued dogs and two rescued cats. Currently, Calissa is an honor student at Battlefield High School and she will graduate from high school in 2025. She was a member of National Junior Honor Society.