BATON ROUGE — The LSU Gymnastics team moved up to No. 3 in the national polls after posting the second highest score in the country this weekend.
The Tigers finished with a 198.125 to defeat No. 6 Kentucky on Friday night in the PMAC. The score was the highest and earliest recorded by any SEC team through three meets.
LSU owns top-10 placements on three events, including being the No. 1 floor squad in the country after week three. The Tigers 49.725 on floor against the Wildcats was the third highest in school history to earn them the top spot in the rankings. The team’s floor performance was highlighted by senior Kiya Johnson, who earned her fifth perfect score on the event.
The Tigers recorded a season high 49.525 on vault this weekend that moved them up to third in the rankings with an average of 49.375. Senior Haleigh Bryant is one of the top vaulters in the nation after posting a nearly perfect routine on Friday night.
On bars, the Tigers sit at fourth in the standings with an average of 49.492 through three meets. The bars rotation this weekend was highlighted by Bryant, who earned her second career perfect 10 on the event and took home the win.
Individually, five Tigers earned a spot in the rankings for the second week in a row following their week three performances. Haleigh Bryant, Kiya Johnson, Aleah Finnegan, Konnor McClain, Amari Drayton are all amongst the top-25 gymnasts in the nation.
Bryant continues to show out week after week for the Tigers as she remains one of the top all-arounders in the country after week three. Against the Wildcats, she posted scores of 9.900 or better on every event for the second week in a row. After performing a nearly-perfect vault with her score of 9.975 on Friday, Bryant continued her night with a perfect score on bars, followed by a 9.900 on beam before finishing the night with a 9.950 on floor.
The senior currently shares the No. 1 spot as the top gymnast in the nation with her average of 39.708 in the all-around. She enters week four with averages of 9.900+ across the board and top-25 placements on all four events; third on vault, sixth on bars and 11th on bars and floor.
Johnson shares 13th and 5th place in the bars and floor rankings with her averages of 9.908 and 9.938 on both events, respectively. The fifth-year senior posted a 9.850 in the third spot on bars for the Tigers on Friday before capping off the night with a perfect 10 on floor in the anchor spot.
Finnegan continues to be one of the top beam performers in the country after week three. The junior scored a 9.850 in the anchor spot on Friday to place her 11th in the rankings with her average of 9.908.
The freshman duo of Amari Drayton and Konnor McClain continue to build momentum every week. Drayton competed on vault and floor against the Wildcats on Friday night and posted scores of 9.875 and 9.900. She sits at No. 24 in the individual vault rankings and No. 22 on floor.
McClain competed on three events for the Tigers on Friday night and made her debut on floor. She scored a 9.925 in her first floor routine in college to place her at No. 11 in the standings.
You can view the full week three standings on Road To Nationals, the home of all national gymnastics rankings.
LSU will travel to take on Missouri in the Hearnes Center this week on Friday, January 26 at 7:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
Stay up to date with all things LSU Gymnastics by following the team’s social media channels @LSUgym on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook.