The University of New Hampshire gymnast was well into her third year as a Wildcat, and about to do her first competitive routine on the uneven bars in a meet at the University of West Virginia in the middle of January two years ago. On short notice.
Working her way back from multiple surgeries that had kept delaying her collegiate career, Kratchwell was scheduled to do an exhibition set that day.
Instead, she was called on at the last minute to replace a teammate. She had not competed in a meet in nearly four years.
"That was definitely the scariest, and one of the best days of my life," Kratchwell said earlier this week. "I wasn't supposed to be competing and the next thing you know, it's 'all right Kylie, you're in.' My faced turned completely white. I was so nervous."
UNH coach Lindsey Bruck Ayotte offered confirmation: "I'd never seen a gymnast so white. I just kept telling her to breathe. 'That's all you need to do right now.' I don't think she heard a single thing other than to breathe."
Then Kratchwell went out and nailed her routine and tied for fifth in the event.
"I remember finishing the routine and saluting and just crying," Kratchwell said. "I was a mess. I hugged all my teammates. The whole team was crying. Lindsey was crying. It was an emotional roller coaster. I will never forget that day."
Nor will her coach.
"There were definitely tears in the eyes, not only myself but the entire staff and team," Bruck Ayotte said. "It was definitely something rewarding as a coach, to be able to see your athlete who had struggled so much, finally succeed in something she had been dreaming about. It was really special."
Kratchwell was in UNH's lineup on bars for the rest of her career that concluded with the East Atlantic Gymnastics League Championships in March where she was one of the team's top performers.
For the way she persevered in the face of knee injuries and stuck with her sport and continued to help the team in any way possible, Kratchwell was named the female winner of the Coaches Award on Tuesday night at the 4th Annual Senior Showcase and A Night at the WESPYs. Former UNH Head Football Coach Sean McDonnell presenting Kratchwell with the 2022 Coaches Award
There were a couple of times during her career when Kratchwell and Bruck Ayotte and her staff talked about how it might be best for her to give up competing.
Kratchwell wanted none of that and her resolve to give back to her team and continue what she started only grew to the point that now she is committed to becoming a college gymnastics coach.
An elite and highly recruited gymnast out of Sewell, N.J., Kratchwell tore her anterior cruciate ligament late in her junior season in high school, two days before nationals.
Many have come back from the injury and it was not overly concerning to the UNH staff.
She did not compete in her senior season as she recovered and was working her way back as a freshman at UNH when her knee gave way on the beam. Doctors discovered that she would need another knee surgery.
The next year, now a sophomore, she again had an issue with her knee: This time her meniscus would require an operation.
"She didn't have an easy road and could have easily hung up her grips," Bruck Ayotte said. "We talked with her about whether it was in her best interests to just hang it up and be done. She could stay involved in gymnastics and the team but maybe her body was ready to be done. She wasn't ready for that." Head Coach Lindsey Bruck Ayotte and Kratchwell
Far from it.
"We definitely had many discussions about it and whether my body could handle it and if it was worth the risk," Kratchwell said. "But I was on the sidelines for two years and one of those years we won the conference championship and just to see the success and positive feelings you get from competing, I felt I owed it to myself and UNH to experience that. I'm so thankful I stuck with it."
She got back in the lineup at West Virginia two years ago, but COVID cost the team a chance to compete in the EAGL Championships and the next year, because of late COVID cases on the UNH team, the Wildcats had to withdraw from the competition.
There were more discussions after last season.
Kratchwell had a year of eligibility remaining and Bruck Ayotte and the staff wanted her back and had a spot on the team for her, but had no scholarship funds available. She and her family decided she would pay for her final year and continue.
"My family had always been super supportive and they wanted me to get as much experience as I could with what was left of my career," Kratchwell said. "Staying here with my team, UNH is my home, was the best decision I ever made." 2022 Senior Day
She was a captain and the extra year set her up even better to pursue her dream of becoming a coach. As she had through her rehabbing years, she assisted the coaches out wherever she could.
"Everyone was kind of joking about it," Kratchwell said. "The first half of meets I was getting ready for my bar routine. After bars were over, I turned into a coach and helped with scoring and moving mats around and doing whatever I could to help out."
At the EAGL Championships, she tied for fifth on bars and earned all-tournament, first-team honors.
"Her fifth year was her best," Bruck Ayotte said. "She was one of the best leaders we've had. She's selfless and puts the team in front of everything else. I'm so proud her."
The coach has no doubt Kratchwell has what it takes to be a successful in the field.
"She has a willingness to think outside the box," Ayotte said. "She's gets to know the athletes she's working with and is very good about knowing when she needs to push someone or when to be a listening ear. She puts together creative workout plans and she's a great choreographer and she's in the beginning stage of developing spotting skills. She wants to continue to develop that to make her more marketable as a coach."
Kratchwell has had job interviews and is ready to go.
"Probably junior and senior year, I realized I needed to do this," she said. "I find so much joy in it. I want this to be my career."
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