VIRGINIA BEACH — Her hands are calloused. There are bruises on her thighs. Her elbows and wrists hurt. Her ankles have been sprained more times than she can count. Her muscles ache.

Amanda Bressette loves everything about gymnastics.

She loves the thrill of a good routine. The perfection of a new move. The satisfaction of success.

All the things that make the bad stuff easier to deal with.

“It’s a pretty tough sport,” said Bressette, a junior at Landstown High. “A lot tougher than most people think.

“It can be pretty brutal.”

Bressette — who also competes for Ocean Tumblers, a Chesapeake-based private club team — is one of the state’s top high school gymnasts.

However, she has lived in the shadow of two -time state champion Kara Wright , a First Colonial junior who is unbeaten in her high school career.

Bressette thinks this might be the season she upstages Wright.

“I’ve beaten her a few times in private club meets, so I know that I can,” Bressette said. “It’s a friendly rivalry.

“But she knows I’m out for her this season.”

Bressette came oh so close last season, finishing second to Wright in both the Beach District and Eastern Region all-around competitions.

At the Group AAA state meet, a fall on balance beam prevented Bressette from winning the all-around title. With the half -point deduction for the fall, she finished fourth. Without the fall, Bressette would have finished first.

She managed a second on uneven bars and in vaulting .

“Oh, yes, it made me a little upset,” Bressette said. “Especially after I saw the final scores. I remember it well.

“But it happened in the second rotation, so I had to gather myself and work through my other two routines.”

This season, Bressette is concentrating on high school competition while competing at Level 10 for her private team. Level 10 is just one notch below Elite , the level at which gymnasts start thinking about national teams and even the Olympics.

Bressette took a brief shot at the next level.

“It’s too stressful for me,” she said. “I tried it one year and qualified in the compulsories . But that was all it took for me to see how difficult it was.”

Bressette got into the sport 11 years ago at the urging of her mother, a former gymnast. It didn’t take her long, she said, to fall for the sport.

Now, two seasons from the end of her high school career, she has set several goals.

“She’s really focused on college,” said Angela Smith , her coach at Landstown.

An honor-roll student who also finds time to work part-time at a restaurant, Bressette said among the schools showing an interest are Idaho , Boise State and West Virginia .

“I’d really like to go to the University of Florida , but that might be tough,” Bressette said. “It would be really nice to get that free education and continue competing.

“I like the team aspect of school gymnastics, and it’s really competitive in college.” Even with all the bumps and bruises.

Reach Lee Tolliver at 222-5844 or Lee.Tolliver@...