Over the course of her gymnastics career there aren't many titles and honors that eluded Decelia Willacy, including an induction into Towson University's Athletic Hall of Fame.

Joining Decelia are Ashley Adams White (track), Shanae Baker-Brice (basketball), Christina Boarman Zajac (field hockey) and Roger Dickens (basketball) in the Class of 2025 to be honored at the Hall of Fame's 61^st Annual Induction Banquet to be held October 10^th on campus in the University Union. The 2010-11 women's swimming team will also be recognized as the Team of Distinction. (For tickets go to: https://towsonuniversity.regfox.com/towson-athletics-tiger-honors-hall-of-fame-induction-2025)

From the age of eight Decelia competed for the Fairland Gymnastics Club, amassing JO regional and national honors. While continuing to hone her skills and compete at Fairland Gymnastics, she was able to climb the sport's ladder at Springbrook High School. With an important boost from her sister, Sondra, the Willacys helped the Blue Devils to an impressive three consecutive Maryland state championships. Along the way Decelia picked up three Montgomery County all-around titles. An all-around score of 37.45 won her a state title in her senior year.

The biggest splash, however, came in her junior year at Springbrook when she was named the National High School Gymnast of the Year. That honor earned the three-time high school All-American a featured spot in Sports Illustrated magazine's "Faces in the Crowd."

"The honor was based on average scores for the year and my average was the highest in the nation," says Decelia. "It was exciting to appear in Sports Illustrated. It caused quite a stir."

The recognition helped her recruiting prospects, leading to interests from a number of schools like the University of Washington, Oklahoma and West Virginia. In the end Decelia chose to attend Towson.

"I made a couple of recruiting trips but I never felt as comfortable at the others as I did at Towson," Decelia says. "I enjoyed the trip to Towson very much. The school was not too far away from home. I'm a Maryland girl at heart. The coaches and girls were so nice and inviting. As a matter of fact I am still really close friends with a fellow recruit, turned teammate, Christina Lindo (now Schaefer)."

Decelia's pursuit of records continued at Towson. An ECAC Gymnast of the Year in 2008, she ranks third on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,865 points. She helped the Tigers to four straight ECAC titles and a USA Gymnastics National Championship in 2007. That year Decelia captured the ECAC's all-around title while leading the Tigers in scoring with a 567.300 total. She earned All-ECAC first team honors in every event during her career. She qualified for the NCAA Southeast Regionals twice.

Upon graduating with a degree in Exercise Science, Decelia's gymnastics career finally came to an end. "Back in my day unless you were preparing for the Olympics there was really no further opportunities in gymnastics after college," she said, although she stays connected to the sport by coaching youngsters at a local club.

Decelia is currently employed as a Senior Treasury Analyst for Mitenyi Biotech, a Biomedical Research Organization committed to empowering discovery and advancing therapy located in Gaithersburg, Md. Still active, she periodically engages in running and hyrox fitness racing.