ST. LOUIS – The LSU Gymnastics team will be honored with a Musial Award for welcoming and embracing UCLA gymnast Chae Campbell at the NCAA Gymnastics Championships.
“LSU is being celebrated for exactly what the sport needs: women supporting women,” Campbell said. “I’m really hoping that more people will see this is a sport that’s competitive but realize you can’t be the best version of yourself if you tear down other people.”
She just moved to LA
🗣 Geaux To UCLA
And she drive a MaseratiGo Off @chae_jada 👑 pic.twitter.com/5EuOOnCiMz
— LSU Gymnastics (@LSUgym) April 16, 2021
The Musial Awards, presented by Maryville University, celebrate the year’s greatest moments of sportsmanship and those in sports who embody class and character. The national event is named for St. Louis Cardinals legend Stan Musial, a beloved baseball superstar and civic icon who was the ultimate good sport.
After UCLA did not advance to the NCAA Championships, the LSU squad welcomed Campbell as an individual on the practice day and semifinal competition. LSU gymnasts learned Campbell’s floor routine and performed it in the team corral. After each routine, Campbell was given the stick crown.
“I was unsure and a little nervous what it would be like without my teammates,” Campbell said. “They knew this was my first nationals, and they could have easily focused on themselves because they wanted to win a national championship. But they let me into their group and their team huddles. That was above and beyond.”
LSU gymnasts Haleigh Bryant and Kiya Johnson along with head coach Jay Clark will travel to St. Louis for the ceremony on Nov. 20. A one-hour special of the award ceremony will air on CBS on Christmas day at 4 p.m. CT.
The honorees at the 2021 Musial Awards include Wayne and Janet Gretzky, Zaila Avant-Garde, Lavel Dumont, Mutaz Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi, Buffalo Bills fans, Bryce Harper, Rebel Hays and Mario Hoefer. Former LSU Baseball head coach Paul Mainieri was honored in 2017 after conducting special tributes for the military academy teams LSU faced that season.