‘Intentional’: Mead gymnast Dezlyn Lundquist brings intention into all aspects of activity-filled life

Mead’s gymnastics team kicked off its season with an art project in which each girl painted a picture that demonstrates their focus word for the year.

Senior Dezlyn Lundquist, who was a district champion and finished second in all-around at state last year, created a beautiful piece of dot art depicting a tiger with outstretched red claws and subtle scratches against a light blue background. Her word is “intentional.”

Lundquist was destined to be a gymnast. As a toddler, she would hang around Dynamic Gymnastics Academy, where her mother coached kids as they flew through the air. Not long after, Lundquist began doing flips and tricks herself. She entered the world of competition at just 7 years old.

When Lundquist began high school, she didn’t immediately gravitate toward gymnastics there. Club gymnastics had her heart, her effort and her evenings.

When her mom retired from coaching, however, she decided it was time for a change.

As she left the individual pressure of club gymnastics behind, she welcomed the team aspect of high school gymnastics during her sophomore year.

Over the next three years, she developed into one of the best performers and one of the most confident competitors on the team.

“She’s much more solid,” Mead coach Hanna Bjerkestrand said. “I am very confident when she’s about to do a routine, it’s going to hit.” Bjerkestrand has known Lundquist since those early days – Dezlyn’s mom was her club coach and Bjerkestrand once babysat for her.

Lundquist leads by example but vocalizes her support for the other 31 girls on the team who are trying to improve their skills. Though the gym is still an exciting and joyful place to be, the seniors on this year’s team have brought a level of calm and focus in contrast to last year.

“How you train in practice is how you’re going to compete, so I’ve talked with the team about being intentional in what we’re doing,” Lundquist said.

The underclassmen look up to Lundquist not just because of her success but because of her work ethic and determination. Her intense training method involves listening to a recording of every specific movement in her routine as she practices at home.

Lundquist prioritizes perfection and performance, but she doesn’t let it get her down if a mistake is made. She figures out why it happened, works to get it right and moves on. This has proved to be beneficial over the course of her gymnastics career. Learning how to be positive and confident no matter what happens is how gymnasts keep from falling.

Falls, however, do happen.

Lundquist’s greatest challenge, yet favorite event, is the balance beam. The hardship is not in the event itself but in the mental strength required to be successful in the event. It involves balance and agility, but it also demands positivity and composure. Rather than letting thoughts of falling consume her mind, Lundquist tries to frame her thoughts in a more positive way, such as, “I want to stick this.”

“That event gets a lot of negative talk about it, so then it seems scarier and harder,” Lundquist said. “It’s the difference of positive self-talk that has made or broken my season.”

As diligent and persistent as she is, it is not all work for Lundquist.

She does not sacrifice enjoyment for success. She can often be seen grooving to the music in the corner of the gym or giggling about something random, and she is always excited to get to know the girls on her team better.

“We go into the meet, and we know we’re there to compete, so there’s that element of focus and a drive to do well,” Lundquist said. “But then also we’re there to have fun and we’re there to enjoy ourselves and enjoy the sport and what we’re doing.”

Being engulfed in a sport is not only fun for Lundquist, but for her whole family. She is the oldest of five, and all the kids have a sport that they enjoy. For some of them, that sport is gymnastics; for the rest, it’s wrestling.

Dezlyn’s brother, Kaysic, was the State 3A champion last season in the 106-pound weight class and is one of the top-ranked wrestlers at 120 as a junior this season. Another brother, sophomore Trandyn, is also a top-10 wrestler at 120.

Growing up, there was always something going on in their house and there was rarely a moment of rest. Now that she has a driver’s license, Lundquist helps out by giving her siblings a ride to their activities, but she will soon be off to college.

Besides gymnastics, Lundquist has also participated in track and field and cross country and is a Running Start student through Spokane Falls Community College.

She aims to attend a university that allows her to pole vault and supports her dream career of being a travel nurse.

Lundquist is deliberate with the way she spends her time and the things she lets into her life. Sports, family, school, her team, the future – she is intentional about all of it and considers the importance each aspect has to her being.