Gym Devils Sign Four in Lyst's First Class

Arizona Dynamics

Lee’s Summit, Kan.

Diamond Gymnastics Acad.

TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State women’s gymnastics head coach René Lyst announced four athletes signed letters of intent to study and compete for the Gym Devils.

Corinne Belkoff, Eileen Imbus, Katelyn Lentz, and Morgan Wilson will all join the Gym Devil squad starting fall 2015. This 2014 signing class is Lyst’s first recruiting class as head coach at Arizona State and she expects the signees to make an immediate impact.

“This signing is historical since it’s the first class under my leadership and all of us are excited about the potential of all these student-athletes,” Lyst said. “We will be losing approximately 8 routines from this year’s senior class. With this group of girls we will be adding 13 to 15 new routines for next season, which could potentially be half of our line-up positions.” 
 

Corinne Belkoff, a native Arizonan, joins the Sun Devils from Arizona Dynamics gym in Tucson. Talented in all four disciplines, Belkoff won the Arizona State Championship on beam in 2013 and this year took home the bar title at the 2014 Region 1 Championships.

“Corinne has been a state beam champion and a regional bar champion. We look to her to contribute on all four events with floor and bars being her two strongest,” Lyst said. “The most impressive thing I’ve learned about Corinne is her passion for gymnastics and her tenacious attitude. Both of those qualities will be invaluable to our success.”

Belkoff is excited to participate in team gymnastics and being a strong competitor for the Sun Devils.

“I really loved the school, the team, the coaches and the location of the school,” the Tucson native said.

Eileen Imbus, hailing from San Antonio, Texas, will be a strong competitor for the Gym Devils on bars and her hard work ethic will help her become impactful on both beam and floor.

“Eileen will make an immediate and strong impact on bars next year,” Lyst said. “She has the potential to be a major contributor on both floor and beam. I think potential is the perfect word for Eileen. She is making strides everyday in the gym and we are looking forward to her continuing to that here in our program.”

Imbus is also strong academically and found that both Arizona State and the Barrett Honors College were a perfect fit for both her collegiate experience but her major in engineering.

“After touring ASU and realizing it met all the criteria I was looking for, I knew it was somewhere where I could feel at home and excel in all aspects of life,” Imbus said. “I loved the environment at Barrett and how it was a small community inside of the large school.”

Katelyn Lentz, a native of Brisbane, Calif., brings strength to the Gym Devils on an event that challenges a gymnast’s stability. Lentz, who is the reigning Junior National Champion on beam, also excels on bars and floor and will immediately affect the line-up.

“Katelyn is a Level 10 National Balance Beam Champion,” Lyst said. “She is obviously outstanding on that event. She is also extremely strong on both bars and floor and we expect she will make an immediate impact on all three of those events. Fans will enjoy watching her graceful and artistic style of gymnastics.”

An avid mountain climber, scaling some of the top precipices in the world like Mount Fuji, Mauna Loa, and Mount Whitney, Lentz is also excited to climb the ranks in the NCAA with Coach Lyst and staff.

“I’m excited to work with Coach Lyst and the other new coaches since they bring tremendous potential to the Sun Devils,” Lentz said. “René has had major success in assembling a team that has made it to Nationals and I am eager to see ASU rise through the ranks.”

Morgan Wilson, of Lee’s Summit, Kan., is a three-time state champion on vault and will bring added depth to the vault line-up. Wilson finished fifth at Junior Olympic Championships on vault in 2014 and also took home 17th in the All-Around.

“Morgan will be a major contributor on all four events,” Lyst said. “She was a state and regional champion on vault and she finished fifth at Level 10 Nationals on that event. Her solid performance on all four events showed in her 17th place finish at the Level 10 Nationals. She is dynamic, powerful, and has great technique. Her explosiveness and athleticism will make an immediate impact on the program.”

A lot of great facets of campus life stuck out to Wilson on her official visit but there is no denying that 300 days of sunny skies stands out to a Midwesterner.

“Arizona State has a beautiful campus and the weather is amazing,” Wilson said. “Everything about this University made me fall in love with it.”