Feature special to wmubroncos.com by Paul Morgan

KALAMAZOO, MIch.- When junior gymnast Katie Jennings came to Western Michigan two years ago as a walk-on, it didn't take too long for head coach Penny Jernigan to realize she had a very special athlete on her team.

''We had just finished a rigorous four-hour practice and I had gone back to my office in University Arena,'' Jernigan said. ''I was then on my way out to my car, and as I was walking through the arena, I saw someone and I recognized the shorts.

''Then I looked again and it was Katie … running the stairs … after a four-hour practice.''

Jernigan and assistant coach Al Scharns had recruited Jennings as a walk-on because the junior specializes in two events– vault and floor. NCAA Division 1 schools have 12 scholarships to give and many coaches give those to athletes who are all-around gymnasts.

Jennings, however, has proven to be special. She was made a team captain at the end of last season and she represents the gymnastics team on Western Michigan's Student-Athlete Advisory Council, which meets with athletic administrators to talk about issues. In her first two seasons, she has competed in every meet and hasn't missed a practice.

''At the end of October, we knew we would have a scholarship available for her senior year,'' Jernigan said. ''We wanted to give it to her in a special way.''

That special way wound up including 2012 and 2016 Olympian and seven-time NCAA champion Sam Mikulak, who starred at the University of Michigan, making a video to announce the scholarship. That video, which was played for the team at the end of December, has since gone viral on the Internet.

''People keep asking me about it and it and it doesn't feel like it's real … it hasn't hit me yet,'' Jennings said.

After kicking around a lot of ideas on how to present the scholarship to Jennings, Jernigan and Scharns came up with the idea to involve Mikulak. Scharns puts on a gymnastics meet in the Bahamas every December and he invited Mikulak and other gymnastics stars to be there to mingle with the coaches and athletes. Scharns called Mikulak's agent and asked if Mikulak would like to make a video.

''Katie is a huge Sam Mikulak fan so this was perfect,'' Jernigan said.

Mikulak was all-in on the project, but it took two months to put it all together. Jernigan and Scharns sent a script to Mikulak who made a video.

''When we got the video back, we knew immediately we had a gem and we could do something really special with it,'' the head coach said. ''We worked with Bronco Media Productions to put it together.''

A problem was when to show it to the gymnastics team … and how to keep it all a secret.

''Someone said maybe we could do it on Katie's birthday, which is at the end of January,'' Jernigan said. ''I didn't think we could keep it all a secret for that long.''

Logistics was a problem, too. Because of team members' class schedule, the team only practices together twice a week and one of those days is Wednesday at 7 a.m. when the Broncos lift weights in the weight room near the basketball court at University Arena. Because the team usually goes onto the court to stretch, Jernigan was hoping no one would think it was strange that the coaches asked the team members to sit about halfway up in the stands so they would be even with the giant video board.

''It was the hardest thing to keep it a secret, but I knew the only way to get that raw emotion on film was for it to be a 100 percent surprise,'' Jernigan said.

Mikulak opens by talking about how the team is gearing up for the new season and the fact that the Broncos have one of the top eight cumulative GPAs in the nation. Then he singles out Jennings and asks her to stand up.

''It's 7 a.m., and my brain isn't working, so we'll see what this is all about,'' Jennings said about the build-up to the announcement. ''I'm a big fan of Sam Mikulak, and growing up, my dad and I would always go to the Michigan meets when Sam competed.
''Then he called my name and my hearing stopped working. I slowly stood up. I had no idea what was going on. Is this a prank or something?''

It wasn't a prank. When Mikulak told the team Jennings would receive the full-ride scholarship, the cheers rang out and the tears started flowing. Teammates were yelling and hugging the junior.

''I don't know when it clicked, but it took me a couple of seconds, then everyone reacted,'' Jennings said. ''It was awesome.

''My favorite part of the video was watching everyone else because I was excited and but everyone else was excited.''

Jernigan then asked Jennings if she wanted to see the video again because the junior was still having trouble comprehending what had just happened. After phoning her mother, Margaret, Jennings then had to tell her parents to keep the secret under wraps since video wouldn't be posted online for about a week.

In the back of her mind, Jennings didn't think a scholarship was a possibility, but it was something to work towards.

''Since I was a walk-on, I felt I had to prove I should be here,'' she said.

When the video hit Twitter, Facebook, etc., it, it took off like wildfire.

''There are thousands and thousands of retweets,'' Jernigan said. ''Sam retweeted it himself to all his followers. USA Gymnastics retweeted it on its site. Jeff Janssen, a leadership specialist who is known nationally, also retweeted it. People on other teams who know Katie were retweeting it.''
Barry Jennings seems to be the family's unofficial 'hits' counter, according to Katie Jennings.

''My dad is so into it,'' Jennings said with a laugh. ''Every day he would call and say, 'You are up to 60,000 views on Facebook!'

''And I would tell him, 'All right, Dad. I have finals now and I'm not really thinking about the video. I just love my parents.''

Jennings is a biochemistry major who would like to go to medical school. Two areas she is looking at are Sports Medicine or Orthopedics. She takes her studies as seriously as she takes her gymnastics.

''Katie studies in the gym during practice and I don't know how she does it,'' Jernigan said. ''She is doing equations on our white board.

''She will do a vault, then work on a solution. She's one of a kind.''

One of a kind who has earned a scholarship … announced by an Olympian.

Western Michigan gymnastics begins its 2018 season on Sunday, Jan. 14, hosting UIC at home at 1 p.m. The Broncos have five home meets this season, also hosting Bowling Green (Jan. 28), Kent State (Feb. 11), Ball State (March 10) and welcoming back UIC on March 13.