Neal: Gophers gymnast Mya Hooten will end her NCAA career with a special reunion

Once club teammates, but still kindred spirits, Gophers legend Mya Hooten and Missouri gymnast Abby Mueller have maintained a friendship as their favorite sport set them upon different journeys.

The veteran tumblers have kept in touch through the years, visiting each other when time allows, cherishing each second they can talk, laugh and hug things out.

"Oh, my gosh, we're very rambunctious," Mueller said. "We both have some crazy energy, as our former coaches would say. So whenever we get together, we literally have the best time ever."

Now their careers are ending. And they will end with them together, in the same arena, through no work of their own.

The end of their collegiate careers takes place this week, starting Thursday, at the NCAA women's national championships in Fort Worth, Texas. That's what made an April 7 FaceTime call between Hooten and Mueller a celebratory one.

Hooten was in her Twin Cities apartment. Mueller was in Columbia, Mo., laughing excitedly over the news. Hooten qualified for nationals in floor exercise, where she has racked up nine perfect 10's during her career. Mueller is part of a strong Missouri squad ranked seventh heading into the nationals.

Since the Gophers didn't qualify for the nationals as a team, Hooten needed to rotate with a different team. And she was selected to rotate with Missouri during their team floor routine in the first semifinals Thursday.

"She called me, and we were both screaming on FaceTime because we were so excited," Mueller said. "Like, the odds [couldn't] have been bigger. And there literally couldn't have been a better end to both of our careers. Like this is just like a fairy tale ending. So, so special."

Hooten and Mueller met when they were 16 while they both trained at Classic Gymnastics in Chanhassen. It was around the time Hooten was emerging from an academic hole and taking a path that led her to being one of the Gophers' all-time greats. Mueller, from Rochester, attended John Marshall High and traveled to Chanhassen five days a week. Yes, that's about a 190-mile round trip.

They took an instant liking to each other.

"Wooo, she's been my best friend since my junior year of high school, when I moved to Classic Gymnastics," Hooten said. "She was there, and we just became best friends, so I'm super excited to be rotating with her."

That, "Wooo," is Hooten releasing positive energy. When she's excited, she will clap her hands rapidly. Her floor exercise routines are 90 seconds of adrenaline-pumping runs, twists, flips and splits that draw roars of approval from audiences.

She made a name for herself during her sophomore year when she crafted a social justice-themed routine in response to deaths of Black men at the hands of police officers in recent years. The perfect scores began to flow, and Hooten became Hoo-TEN.

Mueller committed to Illinois, where she competed for four years before joining the Tigers. So they have monitored each other's career from afar, with frequent text message exchanges and FaceTime moments.

"We have been apart five years," Hooten said. "So, it has been hard."

So, on Thursday, they will be teammates. Sort of.

Missouri and Mya will perform around 3:30 p.m. Thursday, with the event televised on ESPN2. The finals are scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday on ABC.

Hooten is a two-time All-American in floor exercise. A groin issue, which can make split jumps uncomfortable, has kept her from notching perfect scores this season, but she has 9.95 as a high. She backed off leaping for a week in advance of nationals, hoping she will be able to put everything into her final performance.

It's likely that Hooten will not hold anything back this week as her career is coming to an end. She even brought back the social justice routine this year, which shows off her personality as well as her love of jumping and tumbling.

Hooten's Gopher teammates will be on hand to cheer her on, as well. Their support means much to her, but she also will share a floor one last time with Mueller, like they used to at Classic Gymnastics. Mueller, a beam specialist, will try to help the Tigers make a run at the NCAA title.

They get to end their careers together on college gymnastics' biggest stage.