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GymCastic: The Gymnastics Podcast

Iowa State Cancels the Season — Plus Risa Perez on What College Gymnasts Endure

GymCastic: The Gymnastics Podcast

GymCastic: The Gymnastics Podcast

Sports News, News, Sports

4.6 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 10 February 2026

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Iowa State just cancelled the rest of its season!? We discuss the implications of this. Plus our interview with former Oregon State gymnast, Risa Perez on her college career, her switch from ASU (where the coach would be fired soon after) to Oregon State, and her TikTok about her college experience that gained lots of attention. 

HEADLINES

  • Iowa State announced it's cancelling the rest of the season. WHAT!? Listen to our discussion on College and Cocktails
    • ''It became apparent we do not have enough student-athletes available to safely compete,'' Iowa State Senior Associate Athletics Director, Shamaree Brown said in a statement 
  • College & Mocktails with special guest, Cal gymnast and World medalist, Ondine Achampong: Cal @ Clemson

INTERVIEW: RISA PEREZ

If there were one word to describe Risa Perez's gymnastics, it would probably be energy. From her spunky floor choreography and unique beam elements (hello there, front aerial to one-armed back handspring!) to her ability to engage and interact with the crowd, her gymnastics stood out. Perez began her collegiate career at Arizona State before transferring to Oregon State for her junior year in 2014. The 2016 Pac-12 beam champion hit 102 out of 110 total routines throughout her collegiate career. Perez qualified as an individual to the 2015 and 2016 NCAA Championships. Today we talk about her career, her move from ASU to Oregon State and the TikTok about her college experience that got lots of attention. References:

CHAPTERS

00:00:00 – Cold open: Cortisone shot + "that's not a coach's decision"
00:00:29 – Intro: Iowa State cancels the rest of the season
00:02:38 – How does a team compete with no lineup? (ASU suspension flashback)
00:04:30 – Iowa State statement: "not enough student-athletes to safely compete"
00:04:58 – Alumni demand answers + rumors swirl
00:06:23 – Updates: American Cup ticket giveaway
00:06:42 – Merch drop: Team Bronze tee
00:07:07 – College & Cocktails plug: Oklahoma at Florida watch party
00:07:28 – Interview begins: Risa Perez (ASU → Oregon State)
00:08:34 – The TikTok that blew up: 'college gym' reality check
00:13:32 – Locker room culture + boundaries (why this matters)
00:15:28 – Message boards + rumor mill as a weapon
00:15:56 – Rene Lyst era: name placards, power plays, intimidation
00:29:25 – Puberty, periods, and what nobody warns gymnasts about
00:31:43 – Crippling cramps, hormones, and C-section recovery talk
00:32:41 – Hip dysplasia: pain you normalize until you can't
00:38:07 – The 'party' accusation read aloud (WTF moment)
00:41:51 – Team meeting confrontation + medical privacy
00:43:04 – 'Canary in the coal mine': how programs spiral
00:48:10 – Food/weight control + "you can't" rules
00:52:31 – College Mocktails teaser: Ondine Achampong on Cal vs Clemson
00:56:01 – Get more: Club Gym Nerd bonus + where to find everything

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

She's like, so the trainer has told me, like, you, you know, you had ankle problems last year.

0:07.5

We obviously, we don't want to tape a lot, like, waste time and meets, and we don't want to have, like, these issues.

0:14.0

So, I'm going to have you meet with her downstairs, and you can go set up an appointment to get a cortisone shot.

0:21.0

I was like, a cortisone shot?

0:24.2

Like, that's kind of serious.

0:26.1

And that's not a coach's decision.

0:29.1

Iowa State canceled a meet and then their entire season.

0:33.1

We will tell you what we know.

0:35.3

The beloved Risa Perez is here to talk about her college career because she had a crazy experience.

0:41.4

Today is February 9th, 2026, and welcome to the number one gymnastics podcast in the Galaxy.

0:46.4

I'm Jessica.

0:47.1

Spencer is out this week, but he'll be back for Fantasy on Wednesday and College and Cocktails on Friday,

0:52.1

where we are going to talk about the Oklahoma, Florida meet, and of course, the Olympic opening ceremonies and the Bad Bunny concert. But until then,

0:59.7

let's talk about what we know. Why did Iowa State cancel the rest of their season? Well,

1:05.5

we talked about what we knew on college and cocktails, and that's where you get the latest news when it happens,

1:11.8

and they canceled their meat on Thursday. So here's what we talked about on college and cocktails.

1:16.3

Okay, before we get to that, I want to talk about what happened with Iowa, and I want to know

1:20.1

your thoughts on this on Dean, because yesterday, Iowa was supposed to have a meet last night.

1:24.7

Iowa State. Sorry. Oh, that's the worst mistake you can make.

1:29.2

So Iowa State, the day before their meet, like, I don't know, 30 hours before the meat was supposed to happen, they canceled their meat.

1:38.8

And they're the host team.

1:39.9

So this is extremely rare, but it's not unprecedented.

...

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