Tigers set up for strong last quarter of season before regionals
That was both easy and incredible.
The reigning national and SEC champion LSU gymnastics team took to the podium inside the Raising Cane’s River Center Friday for the third annual Purple and Gold Podium Challenge. They dominated it once again, defeating lone foe #35 George Washington 198.125-195.475. The score tied for the highest in the country in 2025 and is the third-best road score in LSU history. The 2.650 margin of victory was LSU’s highest over a Division 1 opponent in a dual meet since January 6, 2017, when LSU beat #6 Georgia by 4.225.
Another one
Kailin Chio won her seventh SEC Freshman of the Week honor of the year, a new record for most by an LSU freshman. Her 39.675 wasn’t enough to win the all-around, but it was more than enough to pace the conference’s two other freshman all-arounders. The SEC record for most Freshman of the Week honors is eight by Kayla DiCello in 2023. Keep that in mind.
I’m going to skip the usual “what happened to the opponent” section because I can summarize it right here: just what they needed to keep pace.
Unlike last year, I didn’t film every routine because I thought LSU would upload all of them. I was wrong, they didn’t upload four counting routines or the two exhibition routines in full on social media. I will link to each routine that has footage. Also, I’m chucking most of the skill-by-skill routine breakdowns for the rest of the season because by this point, the majority of the routines are staples. I’ll instead be focusing on the weaknesses (mostly deductions) and strengths. If it’s a newer routine, one that’s had fewer than five appearances in the lineups in 2025, I’ll break it down in full.
Here’s the long form of every abbreviation I’ll be using below: Yurchenko Full (YF), Yurchenko 1.5 (Y1.5), half-in half-out (HIHO), double layout (DLO), round-off (RO), back handspring (BHS), layout-step-out (LOSO), front layout (FLO), front through to double tuck (FTDT).
LSU Vault 49.325, GWU Bars 48.725
Lexi Zeiss led off with a 9.825 on her Y1.5. She had leg separation in her block (.05) and first flight (.05), form issues during the vault (.05) and a hop on the landing (.1). Her laid out skills look tucked whenever she does them, and it makes me wonder if that’s something worth leaning into. [9.750]
Aleah Finnegan followed with the same score on the same vault. She had two form breaks (piking and bent legs .1 total), underrotation (.1), a step back (.1) and a balance issue during the step back (.05). That wasn’t her usual stuff, to say the least. [9.650]
Amari Drayton then scored a 9.850 (9.90/9.80) on her Y1.5. She had leg separation on her block (.05), a hop forward (.1) and no hold on her finish (.05). This one had a little too much power. [9.800]
Kailin followed with a 9.875 on her Y1.5. She had clear underrotation (.1) and a step back (.1), but that was it. [9.800]
Haleigh Bryant then got a 9.950 on her front pike half. She had a slight hop back (.05), was on the right directional line upon landing (.05) and never held her finish for a full second (.05). While she did a solid vault, her score benefitted from the podium. [9.850]
Leah Miller made her college debut with a 9.775 on her YF. She had leg separation in her first flight (.05), had some piking (.05), took a hop back (.1) and turned before she held her finish (.05). It was her first official college routine and wasn’t bad considering the circumstances. [9.700]
Overall, LSU didn’t stick a single vault. I don’t think that’s the result anybody wanted. Despite it, there was a positive that came from it: none of that snowballed when they went to bars.
LSU Bars 49.675, GWU Vault 48.725 (LSU leads 99.000-97.450)
Lexi led off with a 9.925. She looked a bit short on her first handstand (.05) and wasn’t straight in her Maloney (.05), but the rest of this routine was her best since she got to LSU. I ran into her dad after the rotation and he was still gleaming. That’s an example of why I really love this sport. [9.900]
Ashley Cowan followed with a 9.925. The video doesn’t have the first half of her routine, and that’s where I remember her having a slight issue on a handstand (.05). Other than that, the back half was flawless. She’s incredible. [9.950]
Aleah then scored a 9.850 (9.90/9.80). She had a short second handstand (.05) and a step back on her full out (.1), but the rest was fine. [9.850]
Kailin kept things going with a 9.950. Her only deduction looked to come from not being straight on her Maloney (.05). I didn’t think she was going to stick her dismount since it flew out farther than usual, but it seems like that was meaningless.
Konnor McClain added another 9.950. Her only deduction from my view came from leg separation in her Pak (.05). Everything was like Kailin’s routine: flawless.
Haleigh anchored with a 9.925. She was short on her second handstand (.05) and appeared short on her final handstand (.05), but everything else was really good. This was the kind of routine she usually does. [9.900]
Tori Tatum scored a 9.825 on a solid exhibition routine. She’s now doing a standard Maloney to Pak routine, and that seems to have helped her when comparing this routine to the one she showcased at Arkansas. Her big issues came on her dismount, but her work on the bars was very clean.
Overall, this was the LSU bars team that’d been lurking in the shadows. After weeks of hanging in the low-middle 49s (49.2-49.4), they hit a rotation out of the park. That’s especially good considering the struggles on vault. Better yet, they continued this into beam.
LSU Beam 49.575, GWU Floor 49.075 (LSU leads 148.575-146.525)
Sierra Ballard led things off with a 9.850 (9.90/9.80). The video of this routine wasn’t uploaded, but she was very good on the beam before stepping on the dismount.
Kylie Coen followed with a 9.800 (9.75/9.85). This one also didn’t get uploaded, and all I remember thinking of the routine was that it was fine.
Kailin killed it again with a 9.950. The only issue was a slight leg bend in her front aerial (.05), something I noticed in real time at the meet. Other than that, this was as perfect as she’s done topped off with the best dismount she’s ever done. [9.950]
Konnor hit a solid 9.925. I noted two issues that got it deducted: a short switch half (.05) and leg in her front aerial (.05). Her gainer full was stuck with some momentum through it, but the video LSU posted, with an angle from the ground instead of the stands, makes me think the judges would’ve had a very tough time seeing her movement as she held her finish. This was a very good routine, and it’s clear the change in her leap series that allowed her to remove her side aerial is working out. [9.900]
Haleigh followed with a 9.925 of her own. Her only issue came with a wobble (.1) on her front toss, a skill that has given her trouble her entire career. Everything else was up to her level. [9.900]
Aleah anchored with a third straight 9.925. She dipped her shoulder after her leap series (.05) and had a bent leg in her front aerial (.05), but the rest was perfect. If you watch her face throughout, you’ll see a new stoicism that has me excited. She’s flipped a switch and looks like a killer out there, and that’s what she needs to be the rest of the year. [9.900]
Amari did a solid beam exhibition that ALSO scored a 9.925. Just like with Tori’s exhibition, this was not the same routine she’s done in the past. I didn’t write down her leap series, but it got changed to make it an easier routine for her.
Overall, this was very good again. The mindset shift I mentioned with Aleah is something that courses through the lineup. It’s really good to see that set in now. Floor finished things out strong.
LSU Floor 49.550, GWU Beam 48.950 (LSU wins 198.125-195.475)
Sierra led off with a 9.950. She didn’t hit her sissonne (.05) and appeared to try and cover a landing deduction on her back 1.5 FLO (.05), but the rest of this was the best she’s ever done. This gave her the first floor title of her career, too. [9.900]
Kailin followed with a 9.900 (9.95/9.85). This one didn’t get uploaded, but it had a moment worth discussing. She decided not to do her tour jete half as she went up to do it, probably out of fear of landing out of bounds. This happened at Arkansas, too, but it seems like she and Courtney figured out a solution because she did an additional leap at the end of her routine to get a 10.0 SV. That’s awesome.
Amari was next with a 9.875. She slid back on her DLO (.05) and stepped forward on her FTDT (.1), but the leaps were great. [9.850]
Kylie made her official floor debut with a 9.900 (9.85/9.95). She nailed her front double full, nailed her back acro series, hit her FLO to front full and cheated two turns on her leap series (.1). You may notice she adjusted her leotard during the routine. That is not a deduction under level 10 rules, but it is in elite rules. It’s so nice to see this in the lineups before she becomes a mainstay next year. [9.900]
Haleigh clinched the AA title with a 9.925. She hopped slightly on her front double front (.05) and cheated her switch full (.05), but she nailed this thing beyond those parts. She sits on 99 career individual titles. [9.900]
Leah anchored with a 9.875. She hit her double pike, cross stepped out of her double tuck (.1), cheated the turns on one of her leaps (.05) and had some leg separation in her FLO to front full (.05). This was much better than her exhibition routine at Arkansas and a great way to close things out. [9.800]
Overall, this was up to the level that everyone across the country has come to expect from the Tigers on floor.
Overall thoughts
(post-meet media availability)
It wasn’t a complete meet across all 24 routines, not according to my two vault stick minimum for a complete vault rotation, but it more than got the job done. This meet accomplished several goals. It gave Kaliya a chance to get much-needed rest, it gave Tori and Amari chances to showcase reworked routines, it gave Kylie her well-earned floor debut, it gave Aleah a chance to reset herself by not doing a floor routine and it gave Leah a chance to make her official college debut with little pressure. This also maxed out LSU’s NQS, an awesome thing as they try and keep hold of the #2 overall seed.
Next up is senior night, so don’t forget your tissues for when you inevitably cry.