Six months ago, Central Catholic senior Sophie Tressler was in so much pain, she couldn’t sit at her desk.
Going to school, sleeping and standing, caused her excruciating pain.
Performing in gymnastics was out of the question.
The future Brown University gymnast decided enough was enough. After playing a huge role in the team’s state championship in 2024, she sat out the entire Raiders’ season, and elected to have a microdiscectomy, an invasive surgery to relieve the pain in her by back caused by a herniated disc.
Fast forward to this past weekend. In her first all-around competition since the surgery, Tressler led Team Massachusetts to the championship during the two-day National High School Senior Gymnastics Showcase held in Fort Myers, Fla.
Performing against the top seniors from nine different states, Tressler was the bars champion (9.650), while taking second on the floor exercise (9.55), and fifth on both the balance beam (9.350) and vault (9.375).
The Andover resident combined for a 37.625 all-around score, which was third out of 35 competitors.
“Up until probably two weeks ago, she wasn’t even going to compete on the floor exercise,” said Central Catholic head coach Heather Fusco, one of the coaches for Team Massachusetts.
“Sophie did one or two events a few times for her club team, but she wasn’t sure after her back surgery where she was going to be for this showcase. She had a strong meet, and we are all incredibly proud of her.”
Besides coming back from her injury, Tressler won the bars despite falling during the first day of the competition.
“I got up there, did what I did in practice and just took it one skill at a time, and it was just a great feeling to hit the routine,” said Tressler. “Knowing the whole time that my teammates were supporting me, my coaches were supporting me, and I had put in the effort, it was great to finally go into a meet, compete and hit the bar routine.”
“To see it all pay off was such a great feeling,” she said.
That was far from the case back in the fall.
“I had sciatic pain all done my leg on my right side. It was a lot of pain,” she stated. “It was affecting everything. It hurt to stand up. Gymnastics was just too much to even try. I couldn’t even stand up, so I don’t know how I was supposed to flip over backwards.”
After being misdiagnosed, Sophie and her parents consulted a second doctor, who advised her to get the surgery. They agreed and that followed with four months of physical therapy before being allowed to hit the mats.
“I was not at my best point because I was just in pain all the time. I’m glad the surgery worked because it’s been such a difference,” she said.
Completely healthy, she showed her true colors, leading Team Massachusetts to a score of 151.575, which was significantly better than runner-up New York (148.700).
“It was great to be able to compete again and it’s also a great way to finish off my senior year doing what I love,” she said.
On Thursday, Tressler will graduate from CCHS before going to Brown where she plans to study Bio-Medical Science and eventually go to Medical School and become a doctor.