VIDEO: Penn State Gymnast Rises to Elite
By: Sara Eckert
Updated: March 23, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. -- After overcoming a life-threatening illness as a teenager, Sharaya Musser has risen to the elite in college gymnastics.
As a 16-year-old in Colorado, Musser was training for the 2008 Beijing Olympics when she was hospitalized with Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) - a strain of staph bacteria that infected her bloodstream. The doctors did not think she was going to make it, but she overcame odds and miraculously left the hospital after ten days.
However, she would have to change he path in life. Musser decided to pursue her other dream of a college gymnastics scholarship. She chose Penn State because of strong family ties to the school.
And she has not looked back. In her first three years, the junior has been named to the Big Ten First-Team all three years, has been named the Big Ten Gymnast of the Week 11 times, including a record six times in 2012, and qualified for the NCAA Championships her first two years while going for a third straight appearance this season. She is also currently ranked No. 2 nationally in the All-Around.
Musser and the No. 12 women's gymnastics team are competing at the Big Ten Championships on Saturday, March 24. They have already qualified for the Regional Championship two weeks later where Musser and the team will try to quality for the NCAA Championships. a
As a 16-year-old in Colorado, Musser was training for the 2008 Beijing Olympics when she was hospitalized with Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) - a strain of staph bacteria that infected her bloodstream. The doctors did not think she was going to make it, but she overcame odds and miraculously left the hospital after ten days.
However, she would have to change he path in life. Musser decided to pursue her other dream of a college gymnastics scholarship. She chose Penn State because of strong family ties to the school.
And she has not looked back. In her first three years, the junior has been named to the Big Ten First-Team all three years, has been named the Big Ten Gymnast of the Week 11 times, including a record six times in 2012, and qualified for the NCAA Championships her first two years while going for a third straight appearance this season. She is also currently ranked No. 2 nationally in the All-Around.
Musser and the No. 12 women's gymnastics team are competing at the Big Ten Championships on Saturday, March 24. They have already qualified for the Regional Championship two weeks later where Musser and the team will try to quality for the NCAA Championships. a
