In her final year at LSU, gymnast Haleigh Bryant has reclaimed her title as the SEC all-around champion.
The Tigers were victorious over top-seeded Oklahoma and the other six teams competing for the championship. The title is their sixth in program history.
As usual, Bryant delivered when it mattered most.
“I think since we walked into this arena, we were ready,” Bryant said after the meet. “We were determined all together as one – from the bus ride here to walking to the warm ups, and it was just so fun.”
She anchored on LSU’s first event, bars, with a score of 9.900 that pushed them to the top of the leaderboard.
On beam, Bryant and Finnegan posted a pair of 9.925 scores, which split the conference title between them and Missouri’s Helen Hu.
The Tigers shined on floor, where Bryant anchored the third 9.950 of the rotation. Florida’s bars lineup saw two more perfect scores in addition to Selena Harris-Miranda’s on vault, so LSU slipped behind by 0.100 with only vault left.
The last event was tight, but Bryant stuck her front pike half when the team needed it most. She earned a 9.950 and, with that, became a two-time conference champion.
“I think she’s finally hitting her stride,” LSU head coach Jay Clark said. “We had to bring her along slowly this year and add events as we went. She’s finally in mid-season form.”
Bryant was excluded from the early season lineups due to a preseason elbow injury, but climbed her way back into the all-around over the course of the regular season.
Her score of 39.725 marked her third all-around win since her debut at Kentucky a month ago.