East Lyme High School senior gymnast Kaitlyn Abbey was asked earlier this month if she had any other hobbies.

"I was like, 'ah, school?'" Abbey said. "I don't know that yet. ... It kind of stumped me."

Much of Abbey's time has revolved around gymnastics the past few years. There have been five-hour practices three times a week and sometimes more in addition to competitions. She also works three nights a week at Charlie's Place in Niantic.

The sport has also taken its toll on Abbey. She competed with a torn meniscus last season. She's currently working through a torn ligament in her ankle as she prepares for next month's National High School Gymnastics Association Senior Invitational in Fort Myers, Florida.

Abbey's gymnastics career is going to end after the invitational. She's enrolled for next year at Central Connecticut State University, which doesn't have a gymnastics program, meaning that she's going to have to find something to fill that void.

She made her final season one she'll remember fondly as she was named The Day's 2022 All-Area Gymnast of the Year, her second straight honor.

"Do I want to pick a school where I want to do gymnastics because my body is pretty shot?" Abbey said about her college choice. "I'm basically always hurt. Even though I enjoy it, it's kind of painful after some time. So I (thought) if I go to college for four years (to compete), one, am I going to be in shape to do it? And I don't want to burn out. So I don't want to push myself harder than I should. I just wanted to pick a school for what I wanted to do because I liked it. ...  I didn't want to go to school just because it had gymnastics and not the other aspects of it."

Abbey is considering becoming a teacher. Her two older brothers, Matt and Chris, are both attending college to become physical education teachers. Matt has been student teaching Abbey's gym class. Chris was the 2018 Eastern Connecticut Conference boys' cross country champion and helped East Lyme to three CIAC Class MM state titles.

Abbey has taken time off from the sport before. She quit between the ages of 9 and 13 because the gym she belonged to wasn't a good environment for her. Courtney Detuzzi eventually coaxed Abbey back into the sport. Detuzzi is a manager and head coach at Niantic's ABC Gymnastics and her mother, Kim, is East Lyme's head coach, who works at ABC, too.

"I remember tossing it back and forth in my head asking, 'God, should I do this? Should I not do this?'" Abbey said of deciding to return to gymnastics. "I was running cross country at the time, which I hated. My brother (Chris) is really, really good at it. So I was like, 'Oh, maybe I'll try it and be good like him.' Horrible. Wouldn't recommend.

"I didn't (do gymnastics) my freshman year. That's my biggest regret."

Abbey didn't miss a beat once she returned. She earned all-state honors as a sophomore and was selected to The Day's 2020 All-Area team. There wasn't an ECC championship or state championship meet last season due to the pandemic but Abbey was named All-Area Gymnast of the Year.

Abbey was runner-up in the all-around (36.35) and bars (9.2) and tied for second on the beam (9.0) at this winter's ECC championship. She placed seventh in the all-around at the CIAC State Open (34.975) and was fifth on the bars (9.125) and tied for sixth on the floor exercise (9.0). She was sixth in New England on bars (9.275).

"Her vault this year was a big improvement," Kim Detuzzi said. "She was running and ended up getting shin splints last year, so she only did front handsprings. This year she was doing pikes. She really increased her level of competition on the vaults and bars this year and, in the end, she did a fabulous job of getting better.

"She really matured this year. She used to be really quiet and not really say anything. She just came out of her shell and matured. She's a great kid who cares about everybody else."

The Senior Invitational is May 19-21. After that, Abbey's life without gymnastics begins.

"The adrenaline rush is the best feeling ever to me because it makes you feel like all your hard work has paid off," Abbey said of what she'll miss the most about the sport. "You might not get that feeling in other fields as much in life.

"I've been thinking, 'God, what are you going to do with yourself with all this free time?' I'll find something, but I'm still working on that."

n.griffen@theday.com