Happily Steady Ferris Gymnasts Count On Lighthearted Ivy Plewman For Points

Ivy Plewman is having so much fun with her floor exercise routine this season that she forgets about the pain in her back, shoulders, ankles and wrists.

Ferris High School’s senior gymnast tumbles across the floor to the Austin Powers theme song.

Yeeaaahhhhhhh babeeeeeeeeee.

“People hear the music and look,” said Plewman, who has scoliosis in her back and tendinitis in her shoulders, ankles and wrists.

How’d she choose the music?

Plewman is a cheerleader for the Saxons, and the Austin Powers music was used for last week’s Rubber Chicken spirit basketball game between Ferris and South Hill rival Lewis and Clark.

So she heard it a lot in the past few months during cheerleading practices. And she’s a big fan.

“I look forward to floor,” said Plewman, who has raised her scores to boot. Plewman placed fourth in the all-around competition with a 33.6 in a five-way meet last Thursday at Lakeside.

“With a fun routine you don’t notice the pain because you’re having fun,” she said.

Plewman always seems to be having fun. She earned the “happiest gymnast” award from her teammates last season.

She is known for doing and saying some crazy things.

“There are countless stories about Ivy,” said former Ferris coach Bill Christianson, who retired after last season’s second-place finish in the State 4A Tournament. “She kept us laughing.”

Once, Plewman said that a brick wall was “radiating cold heat.” Another time, she asked a teammate how many hundredths are in a second.

Her senseless comments have become known as “Ivyisms.”

“I say dumb things,” she said. “I keep doing it and I don’t know why.

“I should think about what I’m going to say.”

In school, Plewman does fine. She has a 3.75 grade-point average and plans to attend either the University of Washington or Western Washington University in the fall.

She’s a senior with a full course load - seven classes for both semesters this year.

That includes a zero-hour band class. She’s been playing the trombone for eight years.

“It’s crazy,” Plewman said of her schedule. “I’ve always been too busy.”

She hopes to continue with band or cheerleading in college. A schedule packed full of activities is all she knows.

Plewman gets up at 5:30 each morning to get to her band class on time. After school, she goes home briefly to change clothes for gymnastics practice. After practice, she often returns to Ferris for cheerleading practice or heads to a game to cheer.

A lot of times, she eats dinner on the run.

Plewman returns home around 10:30 p.m., then studies until she’s too tired to read anymore.

“I live Ferris,” she said. “I’m not complaining. I love Ferris.

“I’m going to miss it when I’m gone. But I spend a lot of time there.”

First-year Saxon coach Jenne Kissell is impressed how well Plewman balances so much.

“She’s only missed one practice,” Kissell said.

Gymnastics has never been Plewman’s entire life. She wouldn’t want it that way.

Yet Christianson knew she had talent in gymnastics. He said he watched Plewman practice one day at the YMCA when she was in fourth or fifth grade and predicted that she would be successful at the high school level.

Plewman isn’t the top gymnast at Ferris. But she is one of the steadiest.

“I don’t score high on one event and OK on the others,” she said. “I score OK on all of them.

“I’m just consistent. And the team relies on that.”

And on her Ivyisms.