BATON ROUGE – Four Gymnasts completed their degrees across various Summer Commencement ceremonies on campus Friday.
Sierra Ballard, Kiya Johnson, Kai Rivers and Savannah Schoenherr are the latest Tiger graduates while head coach Jay Clark also participated in commencement activities as a guest speaker on Friday morning.
Clark’s full commencement speech can be found on YouTube.
All four gymnasts were a part of the national championship team this past season and helped make LSU Gymnastics history. It was the final season for Johnson, Rivers and Schoenherr while Ballard announced that she will return for one final run in 2025.
Ballard completed her second degree, earning her masters of business administration this summer. The Louisiana native competed in every meet for the Tigers in 2024 with season high’s of 9.950 on beam and 9.900 on floor.
In her sixth-year season and first year with the Tigers, Schoenherr added depth on three events for LSU in her final year of competition. She competed in all but one meet on vault and bars, recording season high’s of 9.950 on both events, respectively. She made her beam debut at SEC Championships and earned a season high 9.925 in the NCAA Semifinals to help her team secure a spot in the finals.
She completed her masters of science degree this summer in leadership and human resources.
Johnson made her return to the competition floor in 2024. The all-arounder was a huge piece to the Tigers first national championship, not only this past season, but in all her five years at LSU. This year, she competed in the all-around 11 times for the Tigers, earning a season high of 39.675. She also earned season high’s of 9.950’s on vault, bars and beam and a perfect 10.0 on floor.
The Dallas native completed her master’s of liberal arts degree.
A veteran leader on and off the mat, Rivers also earned her masters degree in leadership and human resources. She contributed to the squad in a managerial role this year and stayed a vital leader and voice in the team’s national championship run. The Detroit, Michigan native competed for the Tigers from 2020 to 2023 and was a huge piece of the program in her five years at LSU.
Stay up to date with all things LSU Gymnastics by following the team’s social media channels @LSUgym on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.