Taylor Lawson has goals that only very few gymnasts could fathom coming true. Currently a senior at Bridgeway Academy, the gymnast has hopes of not only reaching nationals in her final season, but also coming out on top.

It looks like she may be on her way to that level.

Lawson has put together a successful season thus far, which included a fourth-place finish in the all around at the 43rd Annual Parkettes Invitational at the end of January. She also placed first in her age division in the all around at a competition in Philadelphia shortly later.

“I have really big hopes for winning first place at nationals this year,” said Lawson, who normally competes in the 17-18 year old age division. “That has really been my goal all season. I’m going to make everything consistent in all four events and keep up my confidence on every single thing so I am determined going into nationals.”

Consistency was key during her performances at the Parkettes home meet over a month ago, an event the Lehigh Valley gymnasts always look forward to. There, she finished with the third-highest score in the vault with a mark of 9.725. She tied for sixth place in the bars and beam routines with scores of 9.1, while taking eighth in the floor performance.

A couple of weeks later, Lawson traveled south to Philadelphia where she continued her winning ways.

“I did pretty well at that [Parkettes] meet,” Lawson said. “It was my second competition of the season, so things were a little shaky. But I’ve been progressing really well and cleaning up all of my skills while getting ready for championships.”

Up first is a return trip to states, where Lawson won gold in the floor routine last year. Then she’ll likely get back to regionals where, too, she won the flour competition and represented Parkettes in a positive light in 2016. States will be this weekend in Williamsport, with regionals shortly later in Maryland.

But after that will be her biggest test of the season when she looks to get back to nationals in Indianapolis. Lawson has qualified for nationals every season she has been competing at Level 10, and took fourth place in all around out of over 60 gymnasts last year.

This year, however, the ceiling is a little bit higher for the Bridgeway Academy senior and who resides in the East Penn School District.

Before competing at Level 10 rank, Lawson had been competing as an Elite gymnast for four years. Those at the Elite rank have the possibility of competing for the US national team, although the demand and intensity required is amped up to another degree. Competing at Level 10 allows gymnasts to focus on school and gymnastics at a good medium.

“The levels start at three and then go up until Elite,” Lawson said. “Elite is where you can like qualify for the Olympics and stuff. I made Elite when I was 12, and then I went to Level 10 last year to focus more on my academics.

“It’s a lot more demanding and a lot more hours in the gym, but it is really rewarding. To focus on getting into Stanford I had to take the other path, which wasn’t a bad thing. You still get the best of both worlds.”

Lawson, who started mommy-and-me classes at Parkettes at 18 months old, received a full scholarship to continue her gymnastics career at Stanford. She will also pursue her dream of becoming an orthopedic surgeon.

“Stanford is one of the top schools in the nation both academically and athletically,” Lawson said. “I also want to be an orthopedic surgeon, so I know that by going to this school it can help me achieve my goal of achieving that dream.”