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Johnson Qualifies for NCAA Championships Individually on Vault

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Johnson Qualifies for NCAA Championships Individually on Vault

BATON ROUGE – Junior Kiya Johnson, an eight-time All-American, has qualified for the 2022 NCAA Championships as an individual on vault, the NCAA announced.

Johnson will compete in semifinal II at 5 p.m. CT on Thursday, April 14 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. She will compete with a familiar team from the SEC in Auburn. Johnson will compete her Double Twisting Yurchenko following Auburn’s lineup during the third rotation of the semifinal. The meet will be televised on ESPN2 and individual apparatus stream will be available at WatchESPN.com and the app.

“It’s rare to be able to coach someone of the talent level and complete character as a human being as Kiya Johnson,” head coach Jay Clark said. “It’s an honor to support her through training and next week as she competes for herself and represents her team and LSU as a whole. She has a real opportunity to compete for All-America honors and a national championship.”

Johnson qualified after finishing in the top spot on vault during the second round of the NCAA Raleigh Regional. Johnson earned the tiebreaker after earning a 10 from one judge.

Overall, LSU gymnasts have combined to win 16 individual national championships with seven coming on vault. Johnson’s teammate Haleigh Bryant won the 2021 NCAA vault title in her debut season. Rheagan Courville and Kennedi Edney each won two NCAA titles on vault during their careers. Susan Jackson and Ashleigh Clare-Kearney also each won vault championships.