Gymnast Betsy Hamm, who played a key role in leading the ISU gymnastics team to last year’s Big 12 Championship, will not be returning to NCAA gymnastics or Iowa State this year. Hamm, who was named first-team All-American in beam at the NCAA Championships, said her decision to leave was based on wanting to try something different. “I wanted to be done with NCAA gymnastics – I liked it while I did it, but it was hard on my body,” she said. “It was my decision to move on.” Hamm actually made her decision to leave Iowa State a few weeks before the team’s first NCAA Championship appearance last spring. The week after the competition, she told her coaches that she wouldn’t be returning this fall. “The change didn’t have anything to do with me not having fun at Iowa State. We had a great year. I know it looks bad that I’m leaving, but there weren’t any issues,” she said. Injuries did take their toll on Hamm throughout her college athletic career, but she said they weren’t her main reason for leaving the sport. The resignation of head coach Amy Pyle early this summer also did not effect on her decision. “Those were two independent decisions,” Hamm said. “I didn’t know Amy was leaving when I made my decision.” Hamm decided to not return for classes at Iowa State this semester, either. Sixty credits short of graduating, Hamm is looking at attending either the University of Wisconsin-Madison or the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She said she likes Iowa State and its campus, but the cost of out-of-state tuition is too high for her to continue her enrollment. As much as Hamm will miss Iowa State, what she said she will miss most are her teammates. “I loved the team at ISU; that was the best part,” she said. “We were all really good friends. It made me think I should stay. I had to think about what I wanted.” The ISU gymnastics team had a stand-out season last semester, becoming the Big 12 champions and making their first appearance at the NCAA Championship. Hamm secured first place on both the all-around and balance beam at the Big 12 Championship. Her eighth place finish on beam at the NCAA Championship earned her first-team All-American honors, and on the uneven bars she earned second-team All-American honors. Despite her individual and team success, Hamm said she knew that she needed to try something else. “I felt good about my decision, like I had given my best. If I hadn’t given my best, I would have felt like I hadn’t done the right thing,” she said. Although Hamm is finished with NCAA gymnastics, she is continuing to train. After a hiatus from gymnastics for the summer, Hamm is getting back into the sport. She is continuing to practice under the instruction of a 1996 Belarussian Olympian. “They’re really mentally challenging practices. I’ve been training for a month, and I’m not doing much other than getting in shape,” she said. Hamm said she has high expectations for this season’s team even though she won’t be competing with them. “They had a good recruiting class last year. There will be walk-ons that might be helpful, and K.J. [Kindler] and Lou [Ball] will do a good job. They’ll do fine without me,” she said. Interim Head Coach K.J. Kindler could not be reached for comment. Although Hamm is leaving sooner than some expected, she said that transferring from the University of Florida to Iowa State her junior year was the right choice for her. “I’m glad about [going to Iowa State]. I don’t regret that at all . It was a great year. I’m very glad I did it,” she said.