In the two years Karli competed at Northwest she had the Midas touch. She won eight conference gold medals including two All Around golds and was twice voted conference MVP. In state competition Karli won nine gold medals including two All Around golds while performing elements in her routines never done before by Nebraska high school gymnasts. In her senior season she won all five gold medals to lead Northwest to the team championship. Her four event school records still stand at Northwest. This 1984 team set a new state scoring record and was listed by Gymnastic Magazine as on of the highest scoring high school teams in the nation. She gained further recognition when her picture appeared in the Dec. 17, 1984 issue of Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd". She went on to compete at Arizona State University where she was an All Conference performer and a five time All American. She is still gaining firsts by being the first female gymnast elected to the Hall of Fame.