It was a season of destiny for LSU.
The Tigers topped California-Berkley (197.85), Utah (197.8), and Florida (197.43) with a score of 198.22 to clinch their first national championship in program history at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
LSU was down by less than a point going into Saturday night’s final rotation with legacies on the line.
What stood between the Tigers and a national championship: the balance beam, an event that has given this LSU squad trouble in the past.
On Saturday, the Tigers had five of the top seven finishers on beam all night, with all five notching a 9.95 or higher.
Kiya Johnson has been yearning for a national championship since she first stepped on LSU’s campus in Baton Rouge half a decade ago. As a Dallas native, Saturday night’s Fort Worth championship meant something extra to her.
“I definitely had a lot of family and friends in the crowd, so it was really cool,” Johnson said. “To accomplish this big dream and goal in front of all the people that were with me from the start is really exciting and really special.”
Haleigh Bryant’s 2024 campaign was something special. Bryant put together one of the most impressive individual seasons of collegiate gymnastics ever seen, but what does a national title mean for her legacy? A national championship places Bryant in her own tier regarding LSU gymnasts, bringing the program home its first national title.
A question Bryant must ask is, what is there left to accomplish?
She’s already established herself as one of the greatest college gymnasts to ever touch the floor, and whether or not she returns to Baton Rouge, there will never be another Haleigh Bryant.
While the senior can return for one more year as an LSU Tiger, her future is still unknown. LSU may be without the best gymnast in the nation next spring, but Tigers head coach Jay Clark doesn’t seem too worried about the future.
“I feel incredibly optimistic about what we have coming back and the freshman class we have coming in,” Clark said. “I’m excited.”
Freshmen Konner McClain and Amari Drayton instantly became key contributors to the Tigers early during their championship campaign. The two have brought a sense of youth to a heavily experienced Tigers roster and will be the faces of the program for years to come. The future is bright for LSU gymnastics, and a national championship will only attract more talent.
This 2024 LSU gymnastics squad will forever have their names etched as national champions, and nobody can take that away from them.

READ MORE: ‘A win for everyone’: LSU gymnastics wins first ever NCAA National Championship