By Patti Otte

Remember the name Ashlee Sullivan. This talented young woman, who spent her childhood in east Richardson, has embarked on a new adventure as a freshman at UCLA. After years of rigorous training and building her elite gymnastics career at Metroplex Gymnastics in Allen, Ashlee is stepping into a fresh chapter as a Bruin. She is an outstanding athlete with a personality built for competition: outgoing, driven, and kind.

The Drive of an Elite Athlete and Scholar

Ashlee was drawn to gymnastics because its dynamic nature matches her own vibrant personality. Beyond the gym, Ashlee is also a self-proclaimed book nerd who loves to read. Her favorite read is Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, and she has devoured everything author Rick Riordan has created.

The dedication required to compete at the US Senior National Team level is immense. Ashlee balances three hours of practice, weightlifting, and elite academics at UCLA. She is truly the definition of a student-athlete!

Born into a close-knit family, Ashlee remains devoted to her parents, Lori and Jim, and her sister, Emilee, a first-year medical student at UT Southwestern in Dallas.

A Career Shaped by Mentorship and Resilience

Ashlee’s path began as a little girl at ASI Gymnastics in Garland, ultimately leading her to full-time training at Metroplex Gymnastics by age 11 or 12.

She gives tremendous credit to her parents for their sacrifices. However, she credits coach Marni Futch at Metroplex Gymnastics with being her biggest influence. Futch’s philosophy—love for life first, sport second—shaped Ashlee’s mindset, resilience, and enjoyment of the sport.

All the joy! Ashlee returns to an attitude of gratitude, knowing that peace and joy follow. We can’t wait to see her score a perfect 10 for UCLA!

Her teammates were her home base, helping her balance full-time training (up to eight hours a day) with “normal” high school activities like prom and football games, despite attending Texas Connections Academy online.

Elite Achievements and Powerful Comebacks

Ashlee’s elite resume is impressive:

• Winter Cup champion

• Multi-year U.S. Senior National Team member

• International competitor in Italy, Switzerland, and Germany

She is one of just 15 American women competing at an active senior level for the US National team. Her strongest event is floor, and she thrives on big performance energy, reframing nerves as excitement—a mental strategy learned from Coach Futch.

Floor is her strongest event, and you can see why! Even after two broken bones in her back and a dislocated elbow, Ashlee kept going, proving that you have to love the sport enough to fight your way back.

Her ascent has required great grit, including coming back from two slow-developing stress fractures in her back and a dislocated elbow suffered in Italy in 2022. This required nine months to return to full strength. Ashlee affirms that gymnastics is “definitely a mental game” that requires fighting your way back.

UCLA: Combining Elite Academics and Athletics

When choosing a college, Ashlee sought a school that combined elite academics and elite athletics. UCLA offered that duality and the team culture she sought.

Now, Ashlee balances a demanding student-athlete routine:

• Mornings: Daily wellness checks, three hours of practice, plus an hour of weightlifting and cardio.

• Afternoons: Reserved for online classes and schoolwork.

She emphasizes that UCLA takes care of the whole person—physically, mentally, and emotionally. Ashlee also hopes to continue pursuing elite gymnastics while competing for the Bruins—a rare and difficult challenge she embraces.

A Future Full of Big Ambitions

Ashlee’s goals are set high:

• Help lead UCLA to a national championship

• Score a perfect 10 on one or all of her events

• Consistently maintain a 4.0 GPA

• Set her sights on the 2028 Summer Olympics

Beyond gymnastics, she plans to major in communications and then go to law school. Through it all, her attitude remains focused on gratitude, knowing that “Peace and joy follow gratitude”. Ashlee Sullivan is clearly just at the beginning of a very exciting life story.

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