No. 2 LSU gymnastics found itself back in the PMAC this Thursday, trading its regular round of Friday Night Heights for a spot in the regional round of the NCAA gymnastics championship competition with a program record score of 198.375.
Yet that record score isn’t something head coach Jay Clark wants to look back on after tonight.
“I don’t care about scores,” Clark said. “I care about the level of performance. I do believe that it was the best top-to-bottom performance we’ve had all year long.”
The Bayou Bengals started the night off with a bang as they secured a 49.475 on the vault during the first rotation.
With consistent 9.850s from sophomore Lexi Zeiss, Kaliya Lincoln and junior Amari Drayton, all roads led to a strong rotation. That rotation’s strength not only accounted for junior Konnor McClain’s 9.900 on vault — the first 9.900 of the night for LSU — but would fuel the SEC Gymnast of the Year Kailin Chio as she set out on the runway for her team.
Looking to do her job in the anchor spot for the Bayou Bengals, the Pete Maravich Assembly Center roared as the sophomore saluted the judges and stuck the landing with a perfect 10 on the vault.
“She [Chio] stands at the end of the vault runway, and she does the same thing, and she puts up the same vault every single week,” McClain said. “And I do not understand, because I mean, we work on consistency every day, but she’s the definition of consistency. So it’s just so amazing to watch.”
From there, LSU flipped onto the uneven bars, looking to Zeiss to deliver her regular lead-off routine. As Zeiss earned a 9.900, senior Ashley Cowan followed suit with a 9.950, posting her season high and matching her career high.
When Chio took off on the uneven bars, the PMAC once again went wild, feeling confident that they would see a ‘gym slam’ after Chio’s routine. To fans’ disappointment, the sophomore received a 9.950, which tied her season and career high on the event.
That boos and disappointment carried from Chio’s routine as fans were sure that McClain’s bar routine would earn that perfect score, but as the judges flashed a 9.950 for the junior, LSU finished the second rotation with a 99.100.
The value of LSU being able to host regionals in its own backyard was not lost on this team as the halfway point of the competition rolled around, as the Bayou Bengals soaked in their fans’ energy.
“It’s amazing, like just being in there,” McClain said. “And the PMAC wasn’t full like it usually is, but it felt full and just that energy that the student section gives us, that the fans give us every single time that they come in here, it’s incredible to feel, and we really take it in, and we use it to best of our advantage.”
As the halfway point of the competition rolled around, the Bayou Bengals held the lead spot with a 0.675 difference above Clemoson’s 98.425. Auburn clocked into the third spot with a 98.27 and Nebraska in fourth place with a 97.475, while LSU took over the balance beam to start the third rotation.
Junior Kylie Coen brought a 9.900 in the leadoff spot in the event, which was quickly joined by Drayton’s 9.950. Both of these scores tied the gymnasts’ season and career highs on the event.
Coen and Drayton’s momentum set at the start of the rotation fueled both Lincoln and Drayton as they stuck a respective 9.950 and 9.900.
Then, once again, all eyes were on Chio as fans hoped to witness yet another perfect score, yet that appeared to be out of the picture as the sophomore took a step forward during her landing, earning a season low on the balance beam with a 9.875.
Despite what Chio might consider a bad routine, LSU found itself in first place with a 148.675 as it travelled to the floor to start the fourth and final rotation of the night.
Senior Emily Innes led off the event and secured a 9.900, which was immediately matched by freshman Nina Ballou in the second spot of the lineup.
It was only up from there as fans watched Drayton earn a 9.950 and yet another perfect 10 for Chio, giving a comfortable score for Lincoln to add onto as the anchor with a 9.950.
As Chio earned her 12th career 10 and 11th 10 this season, LSU finished in first place with a 198.375, smashing its previous season high meet score against Auburn (198.325) out of the picture.
After a complete meet for the Bayou Bengals, LSU punched its ticket to appear in the regional final this Saturday alongside Clemson (196.800) at 5 p.m. CT in the PMAC.
“That exceeded even my own expectations,” Clark said. “I’m talking about the level of performance that we had one, you know, one through six on every event. And you around here, you guys have heard me talk about the fire starters and those first kids up in the past, and tonight that was the key.”
