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Trinity Thomas’ name is synonymous with gymnastics excellence.

The former Florida gymnastics legend finished her collegiate career in 2023 with 28 perfect 10s – tied for the top mark and a record-breaking five "gym slams."

She’s a three-time individual national champion – taking home titles in 2022 for all-around and on uneven bars and floor exercise.

A native of York, Pennsylvania, Thomas arrived in Gainesville in 2019. In 2020, Florida was undefeated and ranked No. 2 in the country when COVID-19 ended the season. For the next three seasons, UF advanced to the NCAA Championship meet but could never win it all. The Gators came in second to Oklahoma the latter two years.

Since her eligibility ran out, Thomas served as a student assistant coach at her alma mater last season and a commentator for ESPN this season. In those two years, Florida advanced to the NCAA Championships. Thursday afternoon, the No. 3 Gators will look to advance to their fifth straight final in a national semifinal meet vs. Oklahoma, Missouri and Alabama.

The Sun caught up with Thomas before UF’s last home meet vs. Kentucky on March 14. Here’s what she said:

First year away from college gymnastics, what has that been like?

“It's been super weird. I'm used to doing gym day in, day out. Last year I wasn't on the team, but I was still student coaching, and I was still training here. It's different being away from Gainesville for a while and doing some other things. I've been exploring other things, and it's been fun. I've gotten to spend a lot of time with my family and with my friends, gotten to do a little bit of traveling.”

What have you been doing this year?

“I just started commentating with ESPN, so that's new. I am about to start nursing school in May, so that'll be new.”

How different is experiencing it as an announcer vs. a gymnast?

“It's weird being at a gymnastics meet, but not doing gymnastics, especially college. It's really fun because I never used to watch everything. When I was student coaching, I watched our team, but I never watched both teams. So just sitting there and watching every single routine is so different, and getting to talk about it and discuss it, it's also hard, because you got a few seconds to say what you want to say.”

Talk about your respect for Leanne Wong in and out of the gym?

“She is unbelievable, and I tell her all the time, I'm like, I feel like I think about things and I don't do them. She thinks about things, and she does it. Anything that she wants to do, she's going to find a way to get it done. I respect that so much because she has that level of discipline diligence to whatever it is. Even if people tell her she can't, she's going to figure out how she can.”

What can you say about Florida coach Jenny Rowland's ability to rebuild the roster after you left?

“Jenny is incredible, and she cares about those young women so much. I feel like that shows because honestly, she always tells us we are the leaders. Each individual on the team. There's no one leader. Everybody can step up into that role. I feel like she helped us have the confidence in each other and ourselves to keep going because last year was hard. The girls were like, ‘Oh, I don't know.’ And I'm like, ‘No you guys can do it. You're incredible. You're here for a reason. You guys are just as talented, if not more talented than our class was. It doesn't matter. You just have to believe that you can.’”

Why nursing school?

“I always knew when to do something in the medical field. I came and thought I wanted to go to med school. Then juggled between nursing and PA a little bit. I couldn't go to nursing school while I was a student athlete here. I was going to go my when I was a student coach that year, but decided I wanted to train. So now it's time.”

Will it be nice to be out of the spotlight and be a normal nursing student?

“Not doing gymnastics at all is the weird part because I've done it my entire life. Anything you do for your entire life, and then just stop, that's strange. But as far as the spotlight is concerned, I don't mind not having the spotlight on me at all. I'm just glad that I get to focus on other things. I'm so used to focusing on gymnastics, and now I get to put that focus into other areas that I care about too.”

Noah Ram covers Gainesville-area high school sports and University of Florida athletics for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at Nram@gannett.com and follow him @Noah_ram1 on X/Twitter.

PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Nick Gabrelcik, 22, is making his third appearance at the Valspar Championship on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort.

The first two times he played at the Valspar he was an amateur, still a student-athlete at the University of North Florida. But this week is different. Gabrelcik will play his hometown course for the first time as a professional.

“This one I’ve played probably over 100 times,” Gabrelcik said. “Coming here, it’s just getting used to it again. It’s been since last year’s Valspar that I actually played Copperhead.”

For Trinity natives, the biggest difference between the college game and playing on the Korn Ferry Tour—which is a development tour for the PGA Tour—is the travel.

In college, he traveled with the team compared to having to book all the travel on your own.

Gabrelcik grew up 20 minutes from Copperhead, so he always enjoys coming home, even if it might not feel like it.

“My family actually moved up to Murphy, N.C., so me and my brother have been joking about it,” Gabrelcik said. “This is our first time coming back to this area and not staying in our own bed. It’s kind of like starting all over again.”

His older brother Donnie is also his caddie.

“Comfortability-wise, it’s awesome,” he said. “We joke around on the course. I’ve known him all my life.”

And for all his life, this is the job he’s worked so hard for.

“It’s everything I imagined. We play a sport for a living,” Gabrelcik said. “We can’t really complain. As tough as it is, the sport can really get to you in some really high ways and some really low ways.”

The field for the Valspar Championship is loaded with 24 of the top 50 players. Gabrelcik has one thing on his mind — to secure a spot on the PGA Tour.

“Win, and we got our Tour card. That’s the goal,” he said.”Korn Ferry Tour has been awesome, but the ultimate goal is to be out here with the best players in the world on the PGA Tour. It’s just an opportunity to speed up that process.”

The first round of the Valspar Championship tees off on Thursday.

More than 50 people walked the rows of the cemetery searching for gravestones that belonged to veterans. Spray bottles were in hand, and they went to work.