Ashlee Sullivan: Seizing Every Opportunity

05 Mar Ashlee Sullivan: Seizing Every Opportunity

Posted at 10:19h in 2025 NCAA Headquarters, News & Features by Nate Salsman 0 Comments

By Nate Salsman

Inside Gymnastics Intern

United States National Team member Ashlee Sullivan has had a blazing start to her 2025 season. Sullivan won the All-Around title at the recent Winter Cup and also medaled on beam and floor. After struggling with injuries throughout her career, the win here was a confidence booster.

“That was the biggest takeaway from this meet is that it was just a confidence builder,” Sullivan said. “I knew I had it in me all these years to do something big, but to actually go up and do it, it kind of just puts that in your mind that you are capable of doing this. You can do it, and just keeping that into training and not letting it fully affect me, like, oh, I won. Like, no, I still have to put my head down and work every single day to keep going for my goals and hoping that it works out.”

For now, Sullivan is taking everything day by day. She’s focused on the near future and not getting ahead of herself. The success at Winter Cup granted Sullivan a spot at the DTB Mixed Cup in Germany. And while her focus has shifted to Germany, she’s leaving all doors open as the National and World Championships are just around the corner.

“Personally, I don’t want to shut any doors right now,” Sullivan said. “The field is mine, so whatever I would like to go do. I’m very excited to go back to Germany, because my dad’s actually from there, so he’s come with me both times, and he speaks the language, and it’s actually the city where he grew up.”

Support System

As the 2025 elite season approached Sullivan was unsure if she wanted to continue doing elite gymnastics or drop to level 10. However, it was the support from Metroplex head coach Marnie Futch that convinced her to give elite another try.

“A big factor was my coach,” Sullivan said. “She’s just fantastic And she just kept reminding me, like, I can if that’s what I truly want [drop to level 10]. But, elite, it’s such an opportunity. I’m very grateful to be able bodied to do it and have all of the tools and everything needed to do it. I had nothing to lose, you know, going into it, if I did great, you know, great, I can keep going with it. But if not, like, I’m still signed, I can still go to Michigan at the end of the season. I had everything to gain, nothing to lose.”

Sullivan enjoys working with Futch. Her coaching style is exactly what Sullivan needed to succeed.

“Gosh, I love Marnie,” Sullivan said. “She’s just so great, and it’s just the right coaching style for me, and what I was wanting to finish out the rest of my high school season going into college. She just really prioritizes building a person as well. On Saturdays, she does story time with us, we sit down, she reads a child’s book and explains the meaning behind it, and connects it to something that can translate into gymnastics and even further from gymnastics, like going into the workforce. She just really prioritizes me as a person and sees me more than an athlete.”

While the Metroplex coaching staff has been the perfect fit for Ashlee, she has also been able to form strong bonds with her teammates

“I love them so so much, and they’re more than teammates,” Sullivan said. “They’re my family and my best friends forever. They’re just so supportive, and the energy that they create, I’ve never felt anything like it before. It’s truly something that’s so special. And you know, every day going into the gym, knowing that I have that energy behind me, even on my tired and sad days, like wanting to go down to 10 and having trouble with gymnastics and everything, they were just always there to support me no matter what.”

Perseverance

Throughout Sullivan’s career, she has faced many injuries and hardships. These setbacks have taught her resilience, and given her a different approach when an injury occurs.

“Every time I got injured, I wanted to take everything step by step,” Sullivan said. “So after the injury, I didn’t want to look at it as a whole, like, ‘oh my gosh, I have to get right back to where I was. I have such a short time. How am I going to do this?’ It was thinking, okay, what can I do tomorrow to be better, after the first injury and after I came back from that, that honestly gave me confidence to know that, hey, I’ve done this before. Yes, this situation sucks, but I can do it again, and I can come back even better than before. One injury doesn’t dictate my whole career.”

Sullivan has proven that she is able to bounce back from injury like no other. She always returns with her bag of tricks in hand, including a standing Arabian on beam.

“I’ve been doing Arabian for like, five years now,” Sullivan said. “Every time before I go on the beam, I just think back to my training and everything that I’ve done, and knowing that I’ve hit more than I’ve fallen and I know I can do it, so why don’t I just go and do it?”

As Sullivan has gotten older she has been able to add more input to your floor choreography, an event where her personality shines.

“Last year is really when I started taking more ownership over my routines,” she said. “That was honestly the first year that I chose my music. But my floor music last year was actually from the Adams family musical. I was listening to it, and I was like, ‘Oh, this would be really fun for a floor routine.’ And Daymon [Jones] and Patrick [Kiens] were over there at WOGA whenever they did that, and they gave me a little more ownership in the routine, too. I like having more of a fierce routine, because I feel like that translates well with my personality and my tumbling. Going into this year again, I was like, I want something a bit more playful, not as harsh, but something where I can still kind of have fun with it, but also have that serious tone in it.”

Ashlee Sullivan - Metroplex - 25wc604539

Decision Time

In the fall of 2023, Sullivan committed to compete at Michigan. She fell in love on her official visit, enjoying the campus and beauty that Ann Arbor offers. She also got to attend the first football game of the year and experience a crowd like no other. For Sullivan, her future teammates attracted her to Michigan. The team atmosphere is what excites her the most about heading to college.

“The selling point for me was the girls on the team,” Sullivan said. “They were just so genuine. They were so amazing to talk to. I could really see myself getting along with them, hanging out with them, being teammates with them every day.”

Finding a school that balanced sport and academics was also important for Sullivan. Michigan stood out for that reason, however, it wasn’t an easy decision.

“It wasn’t like an immediate 100%,” Sullivan said. “It took some time to think pros and cons. I had to make a Google doc and say what I liked about this, what I didn’t like about this, like, whatever I liked about this school, that would get a point, and then this school whatever I liked about that school would get a point. So, it was definitely a very stressful time. Saying that it was stressful is such an opportunity for me. I feel so grateful to have that stress.”

Ashlee Sullivan - Metroplex - 25wc603181

Eyes on 2025

Before Sullivan sets off to compete in the NCAA, she’s prepared to take on the rest of this year, including competing in Germany. In April, there will be another opportunity for Sullivan to earn international assignments at a national team selection camp.

“The next step this season would be going after those assignments, and then I’ll just go on from there,” Sullivan said. “If I’m in a good spot to continue out, I’ll go to champs, and then if I’m set up good there, hopefully World Championships. But just kind of taking it day by day, routine by routine, you know, seeing where everything will land.”

Sullivan’s motto for 2025 is taking in every experience and seizing each opportunity. She has attended many international assignments throughout the years, but sometimes forgot to enjoy the moments. She would tell her younger self to take in the moments.

“I would tell her to enjoy every opportunity that she was given,” Sullivan said. “I feel like when I was younger, I would just get so wrapped and amped up in the moment that I would forget to enjoy it. I’m going back looking at all the assignments that I’ve been on and the places that I’ve got to travel to, and everybody that I’ve met, and I feel so grateful that I’ve been there, but I wish I could have just enjoyed it more and kind of just be happy that I went there, be happy of whatever the outcome is, and fully take in every moment. I have a job to do, and I need to do it, but I can make memories along the way.”

With college approaching, Sullivan will be keeping the door open on doing elite and NCAA gymnastics simultaneously.

“I wouldn’t close that door, and I think that’s something that I would like to do as of now,” Sullivan said.

Catch Sullivan continuing to enjoy every moment on March 29 at the DTB Mixed Cup.

Look for Nate’s NCAA Notes each week and stay tuned to InsideGym.com and Inside Gymnastics magazine for spotlight features and interviews throughout the 2025 season!

Nate Salsman, Della Fowler, Megan Roth and Christy Sandmaier provide NCAA coverage for Inside Gymnastics.

Photos by Lloyd Smith for Inside Gymnastics magazine.