by Jeanni Ritchie
The LSU Tigers arrived at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex the reigning SEC gymnastics champions.
They were on track to reclaim their title, with Haleigh Bryant the reigning All-Around SEC Champion looking to once again take the title. Both LSU and Bryant went on to claim the NCAA championship titles as well in 2024.
But first they’d have to wait.
The afternoon session at the Legacy Arena saw seeds 5-8 (Kentucky, Georgia, Auburn, Alabama, respectively) competing. At the end of Session 1, Alabama was the school to beat with a score of 197.10.
Kentucky came in at 196.775, with Auburn and Georgia tying at 195.95.
After a two-and-a-half hour break while the evening session participants warmed up, Session 2 began. Seeds 1-4 (Oklahoma, LSU, Florida, Missouri, respectively) hit each apparatus with fervor.
Florida, especially, had something to prove. Coming in third in regular season to co-champs LSU and Oklahoma for the first time in years, they were looking to reclaim their dominance at the SEC Finals.
Oklahoma had come in as the number one seed, edging out reigning national champ LSU 198.040 to 198.005 in regular season meets. The title was theirs for the taking.
Following its best regular-season finish in program history, Mizzou gymnastics made a rare appearance in the evening session. Would they pull an upset?
But LSU had come to win, especially after a phenomenal season that found them achieving program record highs. Would they have back to back championships?
The entire arena was filled with rosters that read like a who’s who of elite gymnastics, athletes AND coaches included.
Ashley Priess Johnston, silver world medalist and Alabama championship team member during the Sarah Patterson-era, has been the Tide’s head coach since 2022.
Many of the girls were serious contenders at last year’s Olympic Trials, including two-time Olympic alternate Leanne Wong (Florida). Kayla DiCello was a shoo-in for the team until an injury cut her trials short. Skye Blakely also suffered a devastating injury at Trials. Riley McCusker was coming off an injury heading into trials and fell short of making the team. All three compete with Wong for the Florida Gators.
Aleah Finnegan (LSU) competed at the Olympic for the Philippines. Former Alabama gymnast Shallon Olsen repped her native Canada in international competitions throughout her Alabama career.
Wong, DiCello, Blakely, and Kaliya Lincoln (LSU) are current members of the US National Team. McCusker, Konnor McClain (LSU), and Kara Eaker (Georgia) were previous members of the US National Team.
Joscelyn Roberson, 2024 Olympic alternate, missed out on being able to compete at the SEC Finals when restructuring of the SEC dropped Arkansas down to 9th in the SEC despite ranking 16th in the country. The Razorbacks are coached by former Olympians Jordan Wieber and Kyla Ross.
At the end of the first rotation in the evening session, LSU had the lead with Oklahoma, Florida, then Missouri trailing close behind.
In the second rotation, Florida’s Selena Harris-Miranda earned the first perfect score of the day on vault. In the third, 2021 World silver medalist Leanne Wong’s flawless routine earned her a perfect 10 for Florida as well. 2017 U.S. National uneven bars champion Riley McCusker also scored a perfect 10 on bars.
The perfect 10’s helped propel Florida into the lead heading into the fourth and final rotation, followed by LSU, Oklahoma, then Mizzou. It was going to be a photo finish, coming down to the very last routine.
In Missouri’s final routine of the meet, Mara Titarsolej scored a perfect 10 on the uneven bars while Oklahoma’s Faith Torrez scored a 10 on Floor.
After the final routine, it was LSU who edged out the rest to retain the title of SEC Champion!
2025 SEC Individual Event Champions: Vault- Florida’s Selena Harris-Miranda; Uneven Bars-Florida’s Leanne Wong and Riley McCusker, Missouri’s Mara Titarsolej; Beam- Missouri’s Helen Hu, Oklahoma’s Faith Torrez, LSU’s Aleah Finnegan and Hailey Bryant; Floor- Oklahoma’s Faith Torrez.
The SEC All-Around title went to LSU’s Hailey Bryant; taking home back to back titles like so many of the greats before her, including Florida’s Bridget Sloan and Trinity Thomas, as well as her former LSU teammate Sarah Finnegan.
With talent this deep, expect to see SEC gymnasts dominate at the NCAA finals in Fort Worth April 17-19.
Jeanni Ritchie is a contributing journalist, LSU graduate, and lifelong gymnastics fan. She can be reached at jeanniritchie54@gmail.com.
