BATON ROUGE – LSU Gymnastics head coach Jay Clark and assistants Bob Moore and Ashleigh Gnat announced Wednesday the signing of Aleah Finnegan, Kaytlyn Johnson and Tori Tatum to the 2021 class.
“The gymnastics of this group really speaks for itself,” Clark said. “They really have no weak spots, and they are so eager to be a part of this culture and team that cares about each other. They understand who we are at LSU and the tradition that has been established. When you combine that with the returners, we think the class has a chance to do some special things and leave a unique legacy.
Finnegan is an elite gymnast who trains at Great American Gymnastics Express (GAGE) under Al and Armine Fong. The Lee’s Summit, Missouri, native has competed internationally at the 2019 Pan American Games and Gymnix competitions where her teams finished first overall.
Finnegan owns top-10 finishes on multiple events at U.S. Gymnastics Championships and finished first in the all-around at the 2017 J.O. Championships. Aleah’s sisters, Sarah and Jennah, competed gymnastics in college. Sarah Finnegan is considered one of the greatest gymnasts in LSU history. Her father, the late Don Finnegan, was a collegiate wrestler at Iowa State.
“We could not be more excited to get Aleah to Baton Rouge,” Clark said. “We believe she has the chance to etch her name in the history books, and create her own legacy. She is so gifted and will be a force to be reckoned with on all four events. Her personality and spirit will add so much to our program, and she will be a big part of the leadership going forward.”
Johnson is from Dallas, Texas, and competes at Texas Dreams. She has competed at U.S. Classics and J.O. Championships during her club career. Johnson finished second on vault, third in the all-around and fifth on floor in 2017.
“The power Kaytlyn has is the first thing I thought of when she committed, but she has truly turned into a four-event threat,” Clark said. “She is going to contribute on all four events when she steps on campus. We really love her energy and her free spirit will be a joy for this team. We’ve had great success with gymnasts from Texas Dreams over the years and we believe Kaytlyn will be no different.”
Tatum will be the first gymnast from Twin City Twisters to compete for LSU. The Minnesota native is a level 10 gymnasts coached by Sarah Jantzi. Tatum owns multiple top-10 finishes nationally during her career, including the win on beam and floor at the 2019 J.O. Championships.
“Tori is the first gymnast from Twin City Twisters to come to LSU, which is really exciting,” Clark said. “That gym has produced a long list of accomplished athletes, and we believe we have one of their best in Tori. She is athletic and her gymnastics is eyepopping. As a person she represents humility and grace that lends itself to being a great teammate and friend. We won’t be surprised by anything this young woman accomplishes.”
Fans can follow the Tigers on the team’s social media channels: @LSUgym on Instagram and Twitter, www.Facebook.com/lsugym and at YouTube.com/lsugymnastics.
