For McDonald, next stop Iowa State

Megan McDonald realized it the moment she arrived on campus. Iowa State is where she wanted to attend college.

She'd been to other schools and been offered scholarships from a pair of solid gymnastics programs, but the Cyclones were different.

There was something about Ames, Iowa, and the Midwest that made McDonald feel at home.

"It was where I needed to be. Instantly, I knew it," she said. "It was a really friendly, happy atmosphere.

"When you visit the school you want to go to, you know it. I already had two offers and I visited both schools and liked them a lot, but once I went to Iowa State I got that feeling.

"The second I walked in the girls all greeted me, shook my hand and stuff. No other school did that for me. Even when I was leaving they were giving me hugs, the whole team one-by-one."

McDonald won't wear a Cyclones leotard for another year, but the Osbourn Park High School senior is already a part of the family, having signed a national letter of intent last month.

"I met Megan fairly late in the recruiting process and am glad I had the opportunity to meet her," Cyclones coach Jay Ronayne said. "She will help us gain some needed quality depth in all of the events.

"Not only is she a solid all-arounder who will probably compete in all four events, I also see her making an immediate impact on the team with her charisma and energy. I expect to see some big contributions from Megan on and off the floor of competition."

And McDonald can't wait to be a part of it. Iowa State began this season as the nation's No. 23 ranked team.

"Southern Utah was pressuring me a lot to commit. I was actually supposed to go on a visit that weekend, but I wanted to go to Iowa State," said McDonald, who also received a scholarship offer from Northern Illinois.

"The hardest thing was calling Southern Utah. They knew about Iowa State. I told them I had one more school to visit before I made my decision, but they were the first ones to offer me so that was really hard."

The Cyclones simply had too much to offer. In fact, they had all the things that McDonald was looking for in a college -- a large campus, major Division I athletic program and a gymnastic team that can compete with the best teams in the country.

"Iowa State was everything I wanted," she said. "We got there and went straight to practice. It was an unofficial practice and the girls were setting their own rotations and they had it going. Some schools weren't really organized. It was, you know, summer, whatever. But Iowa State had every event going. I loved it.

"When I went to the first two schools, I really liked it and thought they were cool, but the second I walked into Iowa State I thought, 'This is where I need to be.'"

And McDonald is well prepared for the journey she is about to take. She is a member of the only area high school team in any sport to win three consecutive Group AAA state championships and she has established herself on a national scale as a Level 10 competitor at Apollo Gymnastics Center.

"Where I'm at now, I still need a vault and I still need to work on beam. But I think in one more year I'll be able to compete in a decent amount of events [at the collegiate level]," said McDonald, who earned the highest individual score of her career (38.975) at the 2009 state individual championships and placed second in the all-around competition.

As she prepares for her final high school season and a club schedule that will take her to prestigious events such as the Hill's Maryland Classic, Parkette's Invitational and Cancun Classic, McDonald is focused on dual goals.

She wants to help the Yellow Jackets capture another state title -- in their home gymnasium -- and to qualify for the Junior Olympic National Championships in Dallas.

"This year I want to get to nationals and place," said McDonald, who won a silver medal on the uneven bars at the National Invitational Tournament in Seattle last season.

"I went to Eastern Nationals in Level 9, but nothing compares to JO nationals. Going last year [to watch teammates Paige Krall and Ebony Walters compete] was honestly, like, motivation. I went there and got motivated to come back and get to where I want to be."