The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1318516
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 ■ 39 BY MATT CARTER hen Leigha Hancock finished her Wolfpack gymnastics career in 2008, she had made history at NC State, becoming the first in program history to win the Southeast Region Gymnast of the Year award. It came after a senior season in which Hancock won the NCAA Southeast Re- gional on the balance beam, her favorite event. Two years earlier, Hancock was the first-ever Wolfpacker to win an event at regionals, when she took first place in the floor exercise, the same apparatus she won in 2008 at the East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) Championship. Hancock remains the sole NC State gymnast to win multiple regional titles. In a testament to her versatility, Hancock had won the vault at the EAGL title meet as a sophomore and the beam in 2007. She finished her career as just the third NC State gymnast to register 20 or more 9.9 scores in events, including 13 times on the floor, which remains tied for the most in school history. It's the type of career that led legendary NC State gymnastics coach Mark Steven- son to tell The Wolfpacker in 2008, after Hancock was named its Athlete of the Year: "She's just by far and away been the most dominant female gymnast that we've ever had at NC State, and I personally think she has made a bigger impact nationally for our program than any other athlete has for their programs at NC State recently." The irony is that Hancock almost had an accidental college gymnastics career, and now the path has led her to a post-competitive W FROM REYNOLDS FROM REYNOLDS TO THE RED CARPET TO THE RED CARPET Former Gymnast Leigha Hancock Continues To Do Acrobatics, But Now In Hollywood LEIGHA HANCOCK W H E R E AR E T H E Y N O W ? Hancock was the first in program history to be named the Southeast Region Gymnast of the Year, earning the honor her senior season in 2008, and she has since become a Hollywood stuntwoman. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS