At the 2014 Junior Pan American Championships, Townsend helped Canada win the team gold medal,[1] and she qualified to represent Canada at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics.[2] There, she advanced to the all-around final and finished 12th.[3] She also advanced to the vault and floor exercise finals, finishing seventh in both.[4][5]
Townsend became age-eligible for senior competitions in 2015. She finished 11th in the all-around at the 2015 International Gymnix and also finished seventh in the floor final.[6] At the 2015 City of Jesolo Trophy, she won a bronze medal with the Canadian team.[7] She competed at the 2015 World Championships and helped Canada advance into the team final and thus earn an Olympic berth.[8] She competed on the vault in the team final where Canada finished sixth.[9] After the World Championships, she competed at the Toyota International and finished tenth on the vault and seventh on the balance beam.[10]
Townsend joined the University of Michigan gymnastics team in the fall of 2017.[11] She won the Big Ten Freshman of the Week award for week 2 after helping Michigan beat Ohio State with a career-highs 9.925 on the vault and 9.900 on the uneven bars.[12][13] She helped Michigan win the 2018 Big Ten Conference Championships and was named to the All Big Ten Second Team.[14]
In October 2018, Townsend was arrested for indecent or obscene conduct in public alongside assistant coach Scott Vetere.[15] She then did not compete in the 2019 season and was removed from the roster prior to the 2020 season.[16]