The No. 2 LSU gymnastics team recently lost its title of back-to-back reigning SEC champions on Saturday in a face-off between the top four teams in the nation.
While the Tigers ultimately took third place, there were still many highlights that point to a confident outcome for the looming NCAA tournament.
“We believe we have a team capable of doing everything that they set in front of themselves,” head coach Jay Clark said. “This meet can go many different ways. I mean, you have the top four teams in the country in here tonight — that’s going to stay the same. We’re not going to drop in rankings or anything crazy that I’m aware of. So we’re going to stay right where we need to be.”
For starters, the Session II matchup still saw high scores across each event, helping the team finish just below an overall of 198.000.
Standout Kailin Chio found one of her best uneven bar sets of the season, with a score of 9.950, while fellow sophomore Kaliya Lincoln tied for the SEC title on floor with the same score.
Konnor McClain added to this. After collecting her third score of 9.950 on the balance beam, the junior has continued to model consistency on the event, much like Lexi Zeiss, who has consistently improved as she found a 9.900.
Even though the meet had its highlights, there is still reason for the Tigers’ third-place finish.
“Wasted routines or missed routines, those count as much as the hits do,” Clark said. “So the idea is to make sure that we’re very efficient, that the quality of the work we’re doing between now and then, it can’t be more. We can’t physically do more because their bodies are getting tired. So we have to make sure that what we do propels us forward and makes us mentally more sound.”
LSU took the biggest hits on the floor and vault rotations, both of which are events that the team ranks highest in, at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Even more so, the Tigers were leading the competition in first place ahead of these last two rotations.
As they took the floor, it was clear that landings were not up to usual standards, with gymnasts Amari Drayton and Chio posting uncharacteristic scores compared to their usual high 9.900s and above.
Over on the vault table, clean landings were hard for LSU to come by. With a composite score of 49.450, the team was unable to harness its landings, with only one stick coming from Chio for a 9.975. The inability to capitalize on this last rotation was a big difference-maker in LSU landing behind Oklahoma at the end of the night.
“My mental process doesn’t have to change for anything just because the moment is bigger,” Chio said. “If you want to say that there’s more pressure on you, you can’t change your mental process. You just have to keep doing what works for you.”
While the conference championship certainly had its ups and downs for the Tigers, it was clear that wasn’t something the team is discouraged by.
There have been multiple times this season that LSU has proven its resilience, and it aims to do just that when the team returns home for the start of the NCAA championship tournament.
With its first taste of the 2026 postseason behind it, LSU will have lots to build from in the regional round at home.
“I certainly prefer being in our environment on our equipment at a regional meet over being anywhere else, but you can’t take it for granted,” Clark said. “We’ve got to be prepared, and we’ve got to go in and be focused and intense on what we’re going to do and get ourselves in a good spot.”
