WILBERFORCE, Ohio — The first gymnastics team in Ohio from a historically Black university is about to hit the mats. The Wilberforce team is set to compete in January, but it took another team cut for them to get there.

What You Need To Know

  • Ohio's Wilberforce University is now the third HBCU in the country to start its own gymnastics team 

  • The team will be competing a year earlier than planned after the nation's second HBCU gymnastics team came to an end after one season 

  • The new gymnastics team will compete in their first competition in January 

With every step, with every jump, flip and twist, these gymnasts are making history. For Jaidyn Bryant, it’s her second time making history.

“It's so rewarding and be able to get it to be able to do it again is such a once in a lifetime opportunity," said Bryant. 

She started at Alabama’s Talladega College, the second after Tennesee’s Fisk University, to have a gymnastics team from a historically Black college. But after just one season, funding and Talladega’s team came to an end.

“It was hard, having to say goodbye to what I had and then opening up to something new but I know everything happens for a reason," said Bryant. 

But that loss led her to the nations first private HBCU, Ohio’s Wilberforce University. The university is now picking up where Talladega left off and creating a new gymnastics team.

“Gymnastics teaches you so many life lessons, like determination and perseverance. and I love the life lessons I got out of it, I made so many good connections with my coaches and teammates along the way as well," said Bryant. 

She’s now part of the third HBCU in the nation to debut a gymnastics team. This time Morgan Byrd, a former gymnast herself, is leading the team. 

“When I was a gymnast, I always wanted to go to an HBCU,” said Byrd. 

She says she’s confident this team is going to last.

“I do feel like Wilberforce does have a very strong alumni as well as community support, like the gym that we're in GTCO, they wanted to help us make a difference as well as Dayton Academy,” said Byrd.

She’s leading the newest Lady Bulldogs to their first competition in January, a year earlier than previously planned. The university put the team on the fast track in the wake of the Talladega team cut.

“Now it's just trying to reboot, reboot their minds, get in the reps, get in the sets but it's all about effective, efficient training since we are going so fast," said Byrd. 

She says it's an important step not just for the team but for the sport itself.

For decades, Black women have under-represented in gymnastics but this team is hoping to change that long after they compete.

“It's not just for us, it's for also the little brown girls watching us and doing this and we know there's so many little brown girls that look up to us, and we know that every single time we take a turn, every single time we listen to a correction, we know we're doing it for someone bigger than us," said Bryant.