LSU has a sparkling lineup of gymnasts. While this year’s seniors shined in competition for the 2025 SEC title, two freshmen fought to guarantee their first conference championship win.
As the team was named No. 1 in the country from the Road to Nationals ranking in light of its Championship victory, it celebrated one another in a shower of blue and yellow confetti across the SEC stage.
“I was just trying to do my best gymnastics for this team and to get us to where we wanted to go,” said Tigers all-around freshman Kailin Chio.
Having just joined LSU’s team this year, Chio has already made history as a nine-time SEC Freshman of the Week, breaking conference records.
On top of that, Chio vaulted the second perfect score for LSU in the Tigers’ victory over Auburn during the last week of regular season competition and later set the LSU record for the most SEC honors as a freshman.
In the battle for the conference crown, her performance on the uneven bars matched that of all-around senior Aleah Finnegan with a 9.950 – matching her personal best. She later earned a 9.850 on the balance beam, 9.950 on the floor and vaulted a 9.900 for her team, earning fourth place in the all-around competition with a familiar 39.650.
Sitting in the stands of Legacy Arena was Chio’s biggest supporter, her mother, Sara Chio, who was at a loss for words at her daughter’s success.
“As I always tell Kailin, ‘Fly high, the world is yours!’” Sara told the Reveille. “There are really no words to describe how proud I am of her. It’s indescribable.”
Someone whose parents were also in the stands supporting their daughter was all-around freshman Lexi Zeiss, who vaulted a 9.900 – matching her personal best from Auburn – and earned a 9.8750 on uneven bars in the Tigers’ lead-off spot.
“Leading off on bars as a freshman is not easy, and she handled herself with incredible poise,” Lexi’s parents, Jess and Dana Zeiss, told the Reveille. “She took immense ownership in being the fire starter for this team.”
The March CCSA Student-Athlete of the Month’s personal best on what has become her specialty event this season – the uneven bars – is a 9.925 in LSU’s victory over George Washington.
She has found her place alongside her teammates, and fans can only expect to see her grow from here on out as she begins the postseason with the Tigers.
“We are absolutely so proud of this team,” Jess and Dana Zeiss said. “They handled themselves with such composure and trusted their training, especially down the stretch.”
While the back-to-back SEC Champions competed in Birmingham, Alabama, its fanbase – Tiger Nation – traveled with them and cheered the Tigers to victory.
“What’s most important to us is to see how loved and supported she is by all of her teammates, coaches, and Tiger Nation,” the Zeiss family said.
While Zeiss and Chio were the only freshmen to compete for the crown alongside their team Saturday night, LSU’s all-around freshman Kaliya Lincoln played a prominent role in LSU’s regular season victories on the vault and floor.
“Kaliya Lincoln is still a question mark,” LSU head coach Jay Clark said in Week 12.
The freshman suffered the consequences of a “lingering” shoulder injury after competing against Georgia, as reported by nola.com. Her high-flying vaults and double layout routine on floor have both been retired to ensure her recovery.
However, before she was cut from the lineup and replaced with all-around sophomore Kylie Coen on the floor, Lincoln vaulted a season-high 9.925, earning the same score on the floor in LSU’s victory over Oklahoma.
While Lincoln’s appearance at the SEC Championships was limited to the sidelines, fans can still expect great things from her as she approaches her sophomore year.
“We were determined all together as one,” all-around graduate student Haleigh Bryant said about her teammates. “Jay always says, ‘If you want something, take it,’ and we came out on top, and it was absolutely amazing.”
