Free State High School senior Natalie Rainbolt signed a letter of intent to be on the gymnastics team at Utah State University, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014.

As Free State senior Natalie Rainbolt approaches the pinnacle of her club gymnastics career, she has also set her eyes on the mountains out west to compete collegiately at Utah State University in the fall.

Rainbolt signed her letter of intent with the Aggies on Thursday in the Free State library with several friends, family members and coaches past and present in attendance.

“It is just like amazing when you fly over it. I just fell in love with the whole state,” Rainbolt said. “When I went there (to visit), just the coaches they were all really welcoming. So was the whole team.”

The decision to move on to Utah State was not a difficult one for Rainbolt. She committed to the Aggies in March, and picked Utah State over Illinois, Missouri and Southern Utah.

The Aggies’ program has been on the rise since head coach Nadalie Walsh took over in June 2013. In Walsh’s first season, she guided USU to a NCAA regional meet appearance for the first time since 2007. Rainbolt thinks that the USU program will only become stronger by the time she arrives in the fall.

“She moved them up 20 spots in the rankings from the year before,” Rainbolt said, “so that was pretty incredible.”

Rainbolt had nothing but positive things to say about her current club team coaches, Jackie Flanery-Heredia and Michael Heredia, as well. The FSHS senior has been training in Kearney, Missouri, with Fuzion Gymnastics over the past year, and has been one of the leaders of the newly formed club team.

“In our first year of being a business, she has been a huge, huge asset to our team and our program, and we’re really going to miss her,” Flanery-Heredia said. “However, Utah State has no idea how lucky they are to have her and we can’t wait to see what she does there and follow her career as a gymnast.”

Fuzion Gymnastic’s club season schedule will begin in January, and will have Rainbolt competing nationwide with competitions in Florida, Minnesota, Texas and Missouri.

Rainbolt has the goal of returning to Junior Olympic Nationals competition, which she missed in 2014 due to a bone bruise in her foot. She tied for eighth overall in the floor exercise at the 2013 national competition, and has been training to improve on that performance and become “more consistent on everything” this spring.

“I go to school for five hours and then I drive an hour and a half to practice,” Rainbolt said. “I practice for four hours. I drive an hour and a half home, then I eat dinner, I do homework, then I go to sleep and do it all over again.”