Rhonda Gorseth-Alberts helped build the Austin gymnastics team to a program that has placed fifth in the Class ‘A’ state meet in two of the past three seasons and now she’s getting some recognition from her old school.

Gorseth-Alberts, who coached the Packers from 1994-2001, will be inducted to the Gustavus Adolphus College’s athletic Hall of Fame Sept. 29.

“It’s a nice surprise and an honor. We had a very strong team and some great coaches (at Gustavus),” said Gorseth-Alberts, who graduated from Gustavus in 1993.

Gorseth-Alberts competed on two national championship teams with the Gusties and she won a national title in an individual event as a sophomore. Gorseth-Alberts spent her junior year abroad in Spain and she was an assistant coach at Gustavus her senior year.

Current Austin gymnastics head coach Mark Raymond, who coached with Gorseth-Alberts for a few years, said he has a lot of respect for her.

“She is an absolutely amazing coach,” he said. “I learned a ton from her and there’s probably a lot more that I could learn from her. I can’t say enough about how good she is.”

Gorseth-Alberts said her teams were competitive within in the Big Nine, but one of her biggest challenges was keeping the program going at a time when gymnastics was not necessarily the most popular high school sport.

“It was struggling throughout the state and a lot of people helped out when I was coaching,” she said. “Dean Bishop, John Murach and Jim Riles all did a lot to keep gymnastics alive.”

Gorseth-Alberts still lives in Austin and she helps out with the high school team in the summer. She hopes the program continues to grow.

“Gymnastics is something every child tries at some point. It’s a good all-around sport. It requires so many muscle groups and overcoming fears,” she said. “Some of the AHS gymnasts are the best athletes in the area and you can see that in the other sports they play.”

Raymond said any time his athletes get with Gorseth-Alberts is a big boost to the program.

“There’s a lot of coaches in the state that would absolutely kill for someone as good as her and the time she volunteers for us is priceless,” he said.