After facing multiple injuries in the early season, LSU gymnastics achieved second place behind Oklahoma at the annual Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad on Saturday.
In last week’s season opener, the Tigers won 197.300-194.100 in a landslide victory despite losing top scorer Haleigh Bryant to a preseason injury.
Konnor McClain, another crucial member of the 2025 squad, was also recovering from an Achilles tear from last May in preparation for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials.
In further upsetting news for fans, KJ Johnson, who served as the opener for vault, suffered an ankle sprain and was therefore excluded from Saturday’s lineup.
These injuries left fans concerned about the gymnasts and LSU’s 2025 season, but after its victory against Iowa State and its performance at the Collegiate Quad, some hope has been restored in the eyes of Tiger fans.
The annual invitational was held in Oklahoma City, where No. 2 LSU, No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Utah and No. 6 California met for the first time this season. LSU earned a total score of 197.650, just short of Oklahoma’s 197.950.
Given Olympic order, the Tigers began on vault, and Johnson was substituted for freshman Lexi Zeiss as the leadoff. Johnson posted a 9.85 to set the tone for the Tigers.
Fresh out of the 2024 Olympics, Aleah Finnegan scored a 9.90, and fellow senior Chase Brock succeeded with a 9.925. Kaliya Lincoln and Amari Drayton followed with identical scores of 9.825.
Freshman Kailin Chio rounded out the event and landed the top score with a 9.95 after nailing her Yurchenko one and a half. After earning SEC Freshman of the Week for her performance in the season opener all-around, Chio’s vault score stood the highest of the meet.
After the first round, the composite score was 49.450, the highest of any other team in the event. Entering the second rotation, LSU trailed Oklahoma by a margin of .075.
Onto bars, Zeiss opened again for the Tigers, followed by Ashley Cowan, who crucially came through with an almost perfect routine, scoring a 9.95. Olivia Dunne made her first appearance on bars this season and accepted a 9.725, while Chio posted a 9.90 and Finnegan a 9.825.
In her eighth month of recovery, Konnor McClain anchored the team and celebrated a 9.925, an improvement from her score of 9.80 in the season opener.
LSU’s score totaled 98.875 at the halfway point, trailing the Sooners by .175.
As the Tigers lined up for the third rotation of the meet, they took on the balance beam where graduate student Sierra Ballard began and landed with a 9.850.
Following Ballard, Dunne made her way to the beam and performed a routine that earned a 9.775, the second-to-lowest score of the event.
However, Chio and sophomore Konnor McClain were able to land more points in LSU’s favor, both earning 9.850s on beam.
Given her recovery from her previously mentioned injury, McClain seems to keep growing, with her score on the beam being higher than what she earned last week, competing against Iowa State by .025.
After McClain’s routine, graduate student Haleigh Bryant made her debut after suffering from her preseason injury.
On December 16th, Bryant strained her UCL after hitting the vault table during an exhibition meet.
While straining a UCL is terrible news for anyone, it’s even worse for an athlete like Bryant who is fully committed to her sport.
Last season, she was named the SEC Gymnast of the Week six times and received the title of the 2024 NCAA All-Around Champion, so her absence from the team speaks volumes to fans.
As head coach Jay Clark reported to the press, the balance beam was the only event she was eligible to compete in due to her injury. She earned a score of 9.750, which was controversial among fans.
Since the audience is used to seeing nothing short of perfection from Bryant, they expected her return to be dazzling. However, they took to X to express their disappointment, leaving a string of comments on a post from LSU Gymnastics celebrating Bryant’s return.
“Wth is going on!” one fan posted.
“I think that’s her lowest score for any event since 2023,” said another.
However, it isn’t Bryant that fans appear to be frustrated with as they continue to express sympathy for her recovery, but rather the NCAA judges.
“That’s a perfect score deservedly,” commented another fan on the same post.
While fans appear to be furious with Bryant’s score, their anger isn’t likely to change the outcome of the third rotation.
Finnegan followed Bryant’s routine with a 9.925, bringing the Tigers to a composite score of 49.250, which placed them in third place for the event.
They followed California, who placed second with a 49.325 and Oklahoma with a 49.525.
As the Tigers made their way into the fourth and final rotation on the floor, Finnegan once again led her teammates with the highest score of the event, with her routine earning a 9.975.
Drayton’s score trailed just behind Finnegan’s – earning a 9.950 on the floor. Chio followed Drayton with a 9.925.