Texas East Gymnastics owner and coach Martin Parsley, right, speaks before Greenlee Gowin signs with Augustana (S.D.) University on Wednesday. She signed a scholarship for Acrobatics and Tumbling team. Pictured with Greenlee are her parents Toby and Niki Gowin. The ceremony took place at Texas East Gymnastics in Tyler.

Greenlee Gowin had dreamed of competing in college gymnastics.

However, a back injury forced her to take a different direction.

Gowin’s work ethic, her rebound from the injury and her background in gymnastics paid off as on Wednesday she signed with Augustana University’s Acrobatics and Tumbling team.

“I have mixed emotions today,” said Gowin, who lives in Jacksonville and attends Cumberland Academy in Tyler. “This has been a long journey. After I injured my back and I was unable to perform my favorite gymnastics events I didn’t know what to expect.”

She then found out about the emerging sport of Acrobactics and Tumbling. She researched the sport and emailed coaches and now she will be on the Augustana Vikings team.

Located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Augustana University athletics is an NCAA Division II program that competes primarily in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

“Augustana was the first college I visited,” said Gowin, who also considered Belmont Abbey College (North Carolina) and Limestone College (South Carolina). “I fell in love with the area, the coaches, the campus and the team. It felt right.”

Gowin, daughter of Niki and Toby Gowin, signed her scholarship before family, friends, teammates as well as staff from her school and church at Texas East Gymnastics. There were a number of young gymnasts who halted their practice to watch the young lady they look up to as a role model.

Her father, the former punter with the Dallas Cowboys, said he had wished his daughter had chosen a college closer to home, but wished her all the best.

Acrobatics & Tumbling is a discipline of USA Gymnastics. The six events include compulsory, toss, acro, pyramid and team. The ideal roster is 30 to 45 women and there are 28 spots on the game day roster.