12 May A Performance: Jackson Harrison Shines Bright
Inside Gymnastics went in-depth with EVO Executive Director Kevin Mazeika and interviewed eight senior athletes for this very special behind-the-scenes look. You can see more with all of them right here on InsideGym.com, across our social media @InsideGym and on our Inside Gymnastics YouTube channel.
Christy Sandmaier, Nate Salsman, and Sarahy Mora Rincon contributed to “An Epic EVOlution.”
Photos by Michael Jaroh; Ricardo Bufolin and Lloyd Smith
Jackson Harrison has always charted their own path. Known for their innate artistic ability, their floor routine is simply a performance. Harrison graduated from Arizona State University in 2024, and did not know what was next in their path, but knew gymnastics was going to be in their future. Multiple plans presented Harrison as they approached college graduation. They could coach gymnastics and work their way up to one day becoming an NCAA women’s college coach, and a college coach even approached them about joining the Cirque du Soleil. However, Harrison struggled to get the idea of continuing gymnastics out of mind.
“When I really thought about the one thing that I always wanted to do, it was gymnastics,” Harrison said.
Everything fell perfectly into place for Harrison to continue following the gymnastics dream. As Harrison was preparing to graduate college, their parents were set to move one town north of Sarasota, Florida where EVO is located. Harrison visited EVO and created a plan with coach Syque Caesar.
“I started talking to Syque, and he was laying out all the options for me,” Harrison said. “I remember him telling me there would be an opportunity to train with their senior Elite program. In that moment, I was like, ‘This is it. This is what I have to do.’ I have to at least try. I have to at least give myself this chance, to do so. It was really the combination of EVO and my family is here. The stars totally aligned.”
Harrison stepped one foot into EVO and realized it was the dream environment. Their improvement has been imminent and fast. Harrison learned three new skills in college, a Yurchenko double twist on vault, a tucked double-double on floor, and a Tkatchev + Geinger combination on high bar. Harrison spent the first few months at EVO, refining their skills and making technical adjustments before beginning to train new skills. Harrison began showcasing multiple upgrades on every event, and between the National Qualifier event in June of 2025 to the Xfinity U.S. Championships in August, Harrison added an entire point of difficulty. They attribute this rapid improvement to having more time to focus on gymnastics, conditioning and strength training that occurs at EVO, and the EVO coaching staff.
“The coaches are some of the best coaches that I’ve ever worked with and just allow myself to trust what they are saying,” Harrison said. “I kind of went in with the mindset of, whatever they tell me to do, I’m just gonna do it because I have nothing to lose. And also what do I know? I felt like that openness and that open mindedness that I gave myself was why what they were implementing worked so well with me. I just stuck to the plan exactly every single day, and I did everything that they wanted me to do.”
Caesar has been instrumental in implementing a mindset change for Harrison that has helped them grow on a daily basis.
“He kind of changed the way that I approach gymnastics,” Harrison said about Caesar. “It’s like you’re playing gymnastics, or you’re in the gym doing Elite gymnastics.”
A Performance
“Their routine is gorgeous. The transitions, the choreography, it’s all very intentional, it’s like showmanship. I’ve been working with them to try to get a little bit better,” said EVO teammate Shane Wiskus of Harrison.
Wiskus said it perfectly. Watching Harrison on floor is like poetry in motion. They are able to seamlessly combine tumbling with beautiful transitions that make the routine feel complete. After the Paris Olympics, World Gymnastics’ created new rules requiring gymnasts to create different and unique transitions as they move from one corner of the floor to the next. This has forced athletes to think outside of the box,
“I like the direction that they’re going in with the new rules,” Harrison said. “I feel like it has created a little bit more variety. It’s forced people to think about how they do the routine, instead of just tumbling and getting to the corner. It forces them to actually think about it and make it more of a routine than just individual skills.”
Harrison has been able to help many of their teammates including Wiskus create new ideas for transitions and artistic elements. EVO is home to many of the world’s top athletes including World Champions and Olympians such as Brody Malone, Donnell Whittenburg, and Stephen Nedoroscik. Training with the athletes they grew up watching is a dream come true for Harrison.
“It’s almost a little surreal, like that’s the person I was watching in my living room at 12 years old,” Harrison said. “I think it took me a minute to feel like I belonged with them, especially because I’ve never been on national team. Once I pushed that away I really felt like I belonged, and I felt this camaraderie and every single person we have on the senior men’s program right now is an incredible person. We have such great team chemistry.”
Every member of the team brings a different vibe that contributes to the incredible environment inside EVO. Malone is an incredible leader, Kameron Nelson brings a whimsical energy to the gym, and Harrison loves watching the younger athletes push the boundaries of gymnastics. Wiskus has been someone who uplifts the entire squad and Harrison can go to him if they ever need support.
“He’s is always trying to encourage everyone to look at things from the positive perspective,” Wiskus said. “You can look at the glass half empty, or you can look at the glass half full, and he’s definitely a glass half full type of guy, and we just connected a lot, and that relationship has been really helpful for me.”
Harrison has the opportunity to train with his childhood heroes every day in the gym. Growing up, Harrison found many inspirations from female gymnasts, including Simone Biles, Aliya Mustafina, and Viktoria Komova. Most importantly, the environment and confidence UCLA’s Margzetta Frazier cultivates with her gymnastics is a huge inspiration for Harrison.
“I feel like her whole culture and the bubble that she lives in, and that positive bubble of love and appreciation for each other is very inspiring,” Harrison said. “Then just the attitude that she goes at her gymnastics of like, such complete ownership, and she knows how good she’s gonna be, and that’s something that I feel very inspired by.”
Staying Present
As Harrison looks to the future, they try to stay in the moment and not set too many goals. Their eyes are focused on returning to the Xfinity U.S. Championships in Phoenix, Arizona where they attended college.
“I feel like I went into this just seeing how far I can take it, and I’ve taken it a lot further than I thought I would ever go,” Harrison said. “That’s just what I’m going to keep focusing on, is seeing if I can take one step, and then see if I can eventually take the next step.”
It is incredible for Harrison to think about how far they have come since graduating college. Entering their junior season of college, they were contemplating quitting the sport, but their teammates pulled them through, helped them find their why in the sport. After winning the GymAct National Championships that year, Harrison qualified for the 2023 Xfinity U.S. Championships and felt remotivated in the sport.
“I honestly never thought that I would be doing this,” Harrison said. “I never thought that this would happen to me. But I think it’s just a testament of love and dedication and hard work.”
Harrison wakes up every morning with a sense of joy and excitement that they get to do what they love. The love Harrison has for the sport was evident through every moment of our interview. Every time they hit a milestone, it motivates Harrison to continue pushing for more. They are extremely grateful for the moments the sport has given them.
“I’m just so grateful that I get to have these opportunities,” Harrison said. “Sometimes I feel like ‘why do I get to do it?’ I get to do it because I work hard and I practice my gratitude, and I love what I do. I keep trying to better myself as a person, as a gymnast, and I’m just always super grateful.”
For More
Stephen Nedoroscik: Our Mission Is For Team USA
Alex Diab: “We Wanted The Best. We Wanted To Represent EVO.”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.