LSU Gymnastics captured the program’s sixth SEC Championship title in its history, finishing with a record-breaking score of 198.200 and coming out victorious against the No. 1-ranked Oklahoma Sooners, No. 3-ranked Florida Gators, and No. 7-ranked Missouri Tigers.
Beginning the match on the bars, the purple and gold established its desire to defend their conference championship title from last season.
Following scores of 9.875 and 9.900 from freshman Lexi Zeiss and all-around junior Ashley Cowen, Kailin Chio continues to add further accolades to her already-historic freshman resume.
Since taking her talents to Baton Rouge, Chio has been awarded nine SEC Freshman of the Week awards (five consecutive) and has cemented herself as the best vaulter in the nation.
Showing off her versatility, Chio notched a strong score of 9.950 and tied her career-high in the event.
Senior Aleah Finnegan, who was a member of the Philippines gymnastics team at the 2024 Summer Olympics, followed suit and recorded an impressive routine that warranted a 9.950.
The purple and gold faithful gave a noticeable ovation, and chants started to ring out across Legacy Arena due to the unwavering determination and talent being put on nationally-televised display.
All-around sophomore Konnor McClain and fan-favorite Haleigh Bryant rounded out the bars rotation, scoring 9.900s, and the Tigers entered the second rotation with a .0175 lead over the nationally acclaimed Oklahoma Sooners.
Approaching the second rotation, the Tigers would have to conquer the intimidating balance beam.
Graduate student Sierra Ballard, all-around Kylie Coen, and Chio all secured scores of 9.850, which would then be eclipsed by McClain posting a 9.900 and Bryant recording a dazzling, near-perfect score of 9.950.
Upon adding all of the scores from this rotation, the total beam score of 49.450 is the highest beam score in LSU history at the SEC Champions and the third highest overall in school history.
When the focus shifted to the floor routines during the third rotation, there was a mixture of contributions from familiar faces and gymnasts taking advantage of this outstanding opportunity.
In her third event of the evening, Chio put on an absolute clinic and captivated the attention throughout her flashy routine. She received a respectable score of 9.950.
All-around sophomore Amari Dayton, serving as the third leg of the rotation, capitalized on her strong performance and followed in pursuit with a spectacular score of 9.950 as well.
Rounding out the floor rotation with scores of 9.900 and 9.950, veteran gymnasts Aleah Finnegan and Haleigh Bryant, who are competing in their last conference championship, instilled ferocious intensity and placed an emphasis on putting the Tigers in the best position to thrive and succeed.
Entering the fourth and last routine, the Tigers actually found themselves trailing behind the No. 3-ranked Florida Gators.
Boasting an uneven bars routine that included scores all above 9.900, which included senior Leanne Wong and Riley McCusker receiving a perfect 10, the Gators remained in a comfortable position toward the top of the leaderboard.
However, such enjoyment would be short-lived as this situation escalated rather quickly in the favor of the LSU Tigers.
Anchoring the final rotation, superstar gymnast Haleigh Bryant rounded out the vault with a convincing score of 9.950 and put an exclamation mark behind the team’s overall performance.
The final scores of this match were as follows:
LSU – 198.200
Oklahoma – 197.925
Florida – 197.825
Missouri – 197.400
Celebrating under the downpour of blue, yellow, and white confetti, the LSU Tigers hoisted above their heads the 2025 SEC Championship Trophy.
In his fifth season as the head coach of LSU Gymnastics, Jay Clark has won two conference championships (back-to-back) and the program’s first national championship last season.
While acknowledging this impressive victory, it must be noted that the job is not quite finished.
The No. 2-ranked LSU Gymnastics will compete against the No. 4 Utah Utes, No. 12 Alabama Crimson Tide, Washington Huskies, and Penn State Nittany Lions in the NCAA Regionals between April 2 and April 6.
The campus site and day/time for this match are currently TBA.
