By Michael Sudhalter

University of Minnesota freshman gymnast Lacie Saltzmann trains 4 ½ to 6 hours per day, but she continues to make her Jewish faith and identity a priority.

Saltzmann, who was born in Dallas but grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, moved to Coppell at age 11 to train at Texas Dreams Gymnastics.

She will be back in the Metroplex on Thursday when the Gophers compete at the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. The top four of eight teams will advance to Saturday’s finals, also at Dickies Arena.

Saltzmann, 17, who completed high school a year early to enroll at Minnesota, said she chose the school partly because of its large Jewish population.

“I wanted to go somewhere where I felt like I had a community outside of gymnastics and school,” Saltzmann said.

Saltzmann regularly attends Shabbat services at Chabad U of M at The Rohr Center for Jewish Life. She attended a Seder there on the first night of Passover before her team traveled to Oregon for the NCAA regionals the next day.

She became a bat mitzvah at Masada National Park in Israel during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We visited the Western Wall, and there was almost nobody there, and we floated in the Dead Sea,” Saltzmann said. “To have all of these experiences in Israel was so special.”

Two years ago, Saltzmann competed in the Maccabi Pan American Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Being with so many Jewish athletes was a highlight. “We know we’re all rooted in similar values and raised the same way. I didn’t grow up surrounded by Jewish athletes, so being on a team with so many great gymnasts was so pivotal to me,” Saltzmann said.

The daughter of Michelle Spak, an attorney and energy executive, and Dr. Rob Saltzmann, an eye doctor, Saltzmann started in competitive gymnastics at age 6 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“I had too much energy when I was younger, so my mom put me in a bunch of different sports,” Saltzmann said. She tried soccer, dance, tennis and basketball before discovering gymnastics. “I fell in love with it, and the rest is kind of history.”

When she was 11, she began looking for competitive gymnastics clubs. She found Texas Dreams Gymnastics in Coppell, where she was coached by Olympic medalist Kim Zmeskal.

Saltzmann’s parents couldn’t relocate to North Texas due to work obligations, so she moved to Coppell with her dog, Lila. With the help of nannies and family friends, the Saltzmanns made it work, and her parents visited regularly.

Initially, there was a school at the gym, but then COVID-19 hit, and Saltzmann’s schooling went remote. She said the asynchronous online school prepared her for college classes.

She trained at Texas Dreams 30 hours per week, taking only Sundays off, while balancing tutoring and online school.

Saltzmann is glad that both her parents and Zmeskal will be able to watch her compete in person this weekend in Fort Worth. 

“Kim was such a huge part of my growth as a gymnast,” Saltzmann said. “Everything she taught me is stuff I carry with me today. She used to say ‘make it beautiful’ and that sticks with me today.”

At 17, Saltzmann is one of the youngest gymnasts in the field in the NCAA championships, but graduating early has become a growing trend.

She’s expected to compete in both the floor and bars events at the championships, but next year she hopes to compete in all four events. In a March 15 victory over Illinois, Iowa and Northern Illinois, Saltzmann finished with a career-best 9.925 on the floor.

Saltzmann has competed in every meet this season and earned Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week honors in January after recording a career-best 9.9 on the bars at Nebraska.

Going to a college with a large Jewish population was “non-negotiable” for Saltzmann. Her other priorities were a family atmosphere on the team and a strong academic program.

Saltzmann is double majoring in biomedical engineering and psychology, with the goal of becoming a patent attorney after law school. She also hopes to earn a master’s degree in business administration.

When Saltzmann started in competitive gymnastics, she had the goal of reaching the Olympics. She’s now focused on being as successful as possible during her college career and then moving on to other life goals.

“I just love going out and performing on floor, and being in the leadoff position,” Saltzmann said. “I remember watching the championships on television last year, and I knew I wanted to be here doing what I love with the Minnesota Gophers. We set reaching nationals as a goal at our team retreat in September. I’m really enjoying it with this amazing group of girls.”