No. 2 LSU gymnastics is heading to the SEC Championships this Saturday after overcoming several regular season injuries.
“We learned a lot from this season, you know, kind of a slow start, and then we built it up,” Aleah Finnegan said. “But I think each week, we’re getting better and better, and we’re exactly where we want to be.”
LSU kept up a seven-meet winning streak after losing to Arkansas in January.
In its victories, not only did the Tigers manage to beat personal records, but also set national ones.
Finnegan earned LSU its first perfect 10 on beam during its senior night victory over Georgia, where the Tigers set a program record score of 198.575, marking the nation’s highest score of the regular season.
The victory ranks second-highest in SEC history and ninth-highest in NCAA history.
LSU closed off its 11-2 record this season with a recent victory over No. 12 Auburn, where the Tigers vaulted their second perfect 10 of the season from all-around freshman Kailin Chio.
“She deserves so many 10s, and just seeing it every single day, like I say, she knows what she needs,” Haleigh Bryant said. “And just how inspiring that is, that a freshman knows exactly what they need this early in their career.”
As LSU celebrates the conclusion of the regular season, it also recognizes its victories and losses on and off the floor, specifically with injuries.
Bryant scared her team and its fans when she suffered a preseason injury to her elbow on vault during an exhibition meet. It left the reigning NCAA All-Around Champion unable to compete for the all-around title the season.
The last event Bryant was yet to tackle this season was the uneven bars, which Tigers head coach Jay Clark addressed before LSU topped No. 1 Oklahoma, 198.050-197.675.
“So far, her elbow has tolerated everything that we’ve methodically reintroduced to her,” Clark said.
However, two weeks later, the 2024 SEC Gymnast of the Year shocked thousands of fans as she returned to the uneven bars in LSU’s 197.200-197.075 victory over Kentucky.
“I think just gaining confidence each weekend has been kind of a challenge for myself,” Bryant said. “Or a challenge that I’ve had for myself, and I think I’m starting to kind of have that confidence again.”
Bryant, however, isn’t the only gymnast who suffered from injury this year. Several LSU upperclassmen, KJ Johnson, Olivia Dunne and Chase Brock, dealt with their own obstacles this season.
Johnson sat out the season-opening 197.300-194.100 win over Iowa State due to a preseason injury. But by the end of January, she had returned to vault victoriously with a 9.900. Johnson’s season-high score in her leadoff spot on vault set the tone for her Tigers as LSU defeated Missouri 198.000-197.175. Clark has welcomed her back into his rotation, with Johnson appearing in five meets since.
Also sitting out for a large part of the regular season was Dunne, who was dealing with an injury to her knee.
“Unfortunately, I’ve been dealing with an avulsion fracture of my patella and will not be able to compete on senior night,” Dunne posted before the Tigers’ final home meet versus Georgia. “It absolutely breaks my heart to not get the opportunity to compete in the PMAC one last time.”
While competing in only four of the 13 regular season meets, Dunne has been cheering on the purple and gold while unable to participate.
Also present despite personal injuries was Brock, who suffered an Achilles injury while warming up against the Sooners, which marked her out indefinitely for the rest of the season.
Despite several setbacks, the Tigers have turned their low points into successes this season. This team may be battered and bruised, but they share the SEC regular season championship with Oklahoma after a long, injury-riddled season.
LSU will begin their postseason push at the SEC Championship in Birmingham, Ala.
