Freshman twin sisters, Kristina and Stephanie Poynton, have recently leaped into Woodland’s spotlight. The Poynton Sisters just started competing in Gymnastics on a high school level. Although Woodland does not have an official Gymnastics team, the Poynton sisters travel with Pomperaug High School, while representing the Woodland Hawks. To show their loyalty and Hawk pride, the twins designed their own uniforms which show off Woodland’s iconic Black and Gold color scheme.
The Poynton girls have been competing in gymnastics since they were children. Due to their commitment and efforts, they have developed their skills and made incredible strides of improvement. Kristina and Stephanie often compete amongst themselves to see who can learn a routine first. This friendly sibling rivalry motivates the twins to push themselves and be the best that they possibly can. Now, entering High School, the girls look to dominate the competition and make Woodland proud.
Their father, Jeff Poynton, said “It can be a lot of running around between gymnastics, track, and then trying to get them to do their homework afterwards, but I enjoy watching them compete and going to the meets.”
The girls dedicate countless hours, training all year round, to be the best that they possibly can. At a summer camp for gymnastics, the Poynton sisters had the opportunity to train with Olympic gymnasts such as Jonathan Horton and others. At this summer camp, the girls trained for up to nine hours a day, perfecting their skills and absorbing knowledge from their mentors.
Kristina Poynton claims to have done better than she had expected in the past season.
“I thought I was going to do worse, but I actually did better than I thought I would. The first meet I had the highest all-around in the competition,” said Kristina.
The twins credit Olympic gymnasts, Gabby Douglas and Simone Biles as their role models and sources of inspiration. The girls look up to these Olympic athletes because they have been through a time where they struggled but they persevered and always pushed through. Much like the Poynton twins, these Olympic athletes never gave up when times got tough.
Stephanie and Kristina hope to continue their career as gymnasts in college. Kristina has her sights set on the University of Florida’s division one gymnastics team. Stephanie plans to keep pace with her sister by attending a division one college for gymnastics as well. For now, the girls continue to train, preparing for their next season which will begin the third week of summer.
