BATON ROUGE — LSU head gymnastics coach D-D Breaux announced the signing of Kaleigh Dickson, Janelle Garcia and Shelby Prunty with national letters of intent this weekend. The trio will be eligible to compete for the Tigers during the 2010 season.
“All three of these girls are replacing a really strong senior class,” said Breaux. “We have a lot of confidence that these individuals are going to help us maintain the level of difficulty and competitiveness that we have built to this point.”
Dickson won the Level 10 all-around title at the Region 8 gymnastics championships. Her all-around score of 37.975 qualified her for the national championships. She competes for LaFleur’s in Tampa under head coach Jeff LaFleur, who has extensive experience coaching high level gymnastics and preparing stand-out athletes for collegiate gymnastics.
In 2007, Dickson placed 17th in the all-around and tied for 10th on bars at nationals. She currently holds a cumulative GPA of 3.82 at the Academy of Holy Names.
Garcia, another national qualifier at Level 10 joins the Tiger squad from Orlando, Fla., where she trains at Orlando Metro Gym under head coach Jeff Wood, has also coached form Tiger All-American Kelly Phelan.
Garcia holds a 3.72 GPA at A Beka Academy. She plans to major in sports medicine at LSU. She is the daughter of Marizel and Miguel Garcia.
“Garcia comes from one of toughest clubs,” said Breaux. “We know she will continue to develop into a great collegiate all-arounder. We are looking forward to what she will contribute to the team.”
Prunty joins the squad from Hanover Park, Ill., where she competes with IGI gymnastics club under head coach Todd Gardiner. Prunty averages an all-around of 37.000. She recently took second place at Region 5 championships with a score of 38.025 and took 10th at nationals.
Prunty attends Bartlett High School with a GPA of 3.964. She is the daughter of Bill and Cindy Prunty.
“She had some set backs last season with injuries,” said Breaux. The amount Prunty has taken off and the time she has let herself heal we know she will be able to come in and really help us. She’s a great leader in a huge program in the Chicago area. Shelby will definitely add to our team depth. ”