Twin City Twisters Explained

Twin City Twisters
Full Name:	Twin City Twisters Gymnastics
Nicknames:	TCT
Sport:	Artistic gymnastics
Founded:	1987; 27 years ago
League:	USA Gymnastics
City:	Champlin, Minnesota
Owner:	Mike Hunger
Coach:	Sami Wozney
Members:	Maggie Nichols Grace McCallum Jessie DeZiel Olivia Trautman Abby Paulson

Twin City Twisters, commonly shortened to TCT, is an artistic gymnastics facility located in Champlin, Minnesota. A number of elite and collegiate gymnasts have trained there, including World champions Maggie Nichols and Lexi Zeiss, Olympic medalist Grace McCallum, and Pan American Games champion Jessie Deziel.

History

Mike Hunger opened the facility in 1987.^[1]

The program was involved in the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal as Maggie Nichols and coach Sarah Jantzi were among the first to speak out about Larry Nassar.^{[2] [3]}

In 2024, the organization hired Tom Farden, the former head coach of Utah Red Rocks, who left Utah after abuse allegations surfaced around the program.^{[4] [5]}

Coaching staff

• Mike Hunger - Former owner and head coach^[6]
• Sami Wozney
• Sarah Jantzi - Head elite coach^[7]
• Rich Stenger - Minnesota Golden Gophers assistant coach, former Roseville High School assistant coach ^[8]

Notable alumni

The following gymnasts are TCT alumni:

Jessie DeZiel^[9]

• U.S. National Team (2011)
• 2011 Pan American Games team champion
• Nebraska Cornhuskers (2012-2015)

Grace McCallum^[10]

• 2020 Olympic team silver medalist
• U.S. National Team (2018–22)
• 2018 World team champion
• 2019 World team champion
• Utah Gymnastics (2022-2025)

Maggie Nichols^[11]

• U.S. National Team (2013–2016)
• 2015 World team champion, floor exercise bronze medalist
• Oklahoma Sooners (2017-2020) - 7x NCAA Champion

Lexi Zeiss^[7]

• U.S. National Team (2022–present)
• 2022 World team champion (alternate)

Abby Paulson^[1]

• U.S National Team (2017)
• 2017 City of Jesolo floor champion, all-around bronze medalist
• Utah Gymnastics (2020-2024)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Mike Hunger . . June 10, 2024.
2. Web site: Minnesota native gymnast who was first to speak up about Nasser sex abuse to be honored . Frederick . Jace . July 17, 2018 . inforum.com . July 17, 2024.
3. News: Frederick . Jace . July 19, 2018 . Maggie Nichols' courage — going public about Nassar's sex abuse — helped transform gymnastics . . July 17, 2024.
4. News: Vejar . Alex . November 21, 2023 . Utah gymnastics coach Tom Farden is out as Red Rocks boss after months of controversy . . July 17, 2024.
5. Web site: After MyKayla Skinner, Former Coach Gets Brutally Slammed By Gymnastics Community For Getting Into Twin City Twisters: "This Sport is So Toxic" . Sikdar . Disita . July 4, 2024 . essentiallysports.com . July 17, 2024.
6. Web site: Furlong . Josh . Carly Dockendorf adds former club coach Mike Hunger as newest Red Rocks assistant . . June 10, 2024 . May 9, 2024.
7. Web site: Karwowski . Alex . Aspiring U.S. Olympics team gymnast Lexi Zeiss training in Champlin . . June 10, 2024 . April 5, 2024.
8. Web site: Rich Stenger Bio - University of Minnesota Official Athletic Site . www.gophersports.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150316193204/http://www.gophersports.com/sports/w-gym/mtt/rich_stenger_932212.html . 2015-03-16.
9. Web site: Jessie DeZiel . . June 10, 2024.
10. Web site: Olympian Grace McCallum Inspires Gymnasts at Twin City Twisters . CCX Media . June 10, 2024 . August 4, 2021.
11. Web site: Clayton . Ren . Former Minnesota gymnast Maggie Nichols hopes new book will help sexual abuse survivors . . June 10, 2024 . January 21, 2024.