Sophie Patterson has turned heads throughout her young gymnastics career at the local, provincial and national level.
Now, the New Westminster athlete will soon catch the attention of a larger audience across North America starting next fall — and over the next four years.
Patterson, 17, recently earned and signed a full-ride scholarship to San Jose State University (SJSU) to represent the Spartans beginning in the 2025-26 season.
She'll head to the Bay Area soon after the Grade 12 student graduates from New Westminster Secondary in the summer.
"I couldn’t have done it without my teammates, coaches and especially parents," said Patterson in a social media post when she verbally committed to the California college.
And not only will she pack the essentials for the west coast lifestyle, but Patterson be bringing plenty of experience and ambition as a three-year member of Team Canada Espoir (2022-2024).
"Sophie is a very strong all-around gymnast and her power on vault and floor impressed us most during the recruiting process," said SJSU gymnastics head coach Joanne Bowers in a team statement.
"She continues our trend of signing Canadian gymnasts who have had great success in their Spartan Career — former Spartans Taylor Chan, Emma Milne, Jada Mazury and current gymnasts Kyra Cato [Calgary] and Ella Power [Burlington, Ont.]."
Patterson is a member of Club Aviva in Coquitlam, training under Nancy Beyer and Naomi Miller.
Her resume includes a bronze medal from the 2023 Canada Winter Games with B.C. in the female team gymnastics event.
Patterson's score was used from all four disciplines — vault, uneven bars, beam and floor — to accumulate the final score and land on the podium. She was in Grade 10 at the time of the competition.
Patterson finished eighth in vault as well as 18th out of 30 in the all-around high performance senior contest at the 2024 Canadian national championships and Olympic Trials in Québec.
She has competed on the international stage, including at Combs La Ville France in 2022 where she finished fifth in vault and 11th in the all-around event. In 2023, she claimed 32nd at Jesolo in Italy.
Off the mat, Patterson coaches younger gymnasts at the City of New West Sportsplex at Queen's Park.
Patterson is joining an SJSU core that looking to reach the NCAA Div. I championships for a third consecutive season. The Spartans have never won an NCAA banner in gymnastics.
Last year, the program's season came to an end after losing out to Southern Utah in the regional contest.
