Kailin Chio Claims First SEC Award of 2026, Named Gymnast of the Week After Standout Season Opener Performance

BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU Gymnastics sophomore Kailin Chio was named the Week 2 SEC Gymnast of the Week following her standout performance in the Tigers’ season-opening meet at the third-annual Sprouts Collegiate Quad last Saturday, announced by the league on Tuesday.

In the first meet of her sophomore season, Chio captured the all-around title in Session I of the Sprouts Quad against some of the top teams in the nation, finishing as the top all-arounder with her score of 39.600. The performance set the tone for her sophomore campaign and helped LSU open the 2026 season in strong fashion.

In the Tigers season opener in Utah on January 10, Chio recorded three scores of 9.900 or higher across four events. She tallied scores of a 9.900 on vault, 9.850 on bars, 9.900 on floor and matched her career-high score on beam with a 9.950 to secure her first all-around win of the year.

The Las Vegas native picked up right where she left off after an exceptional freshman season in 2025 that saw her become the NCAA Vault Champion and SEC Freshman of the Year. After just one meet, the now sophomore has already claimed her first SEC Award of 2026. Chio previously won SEC Freshman of the Week honors nine times in 2025 — the most by any freshman in SEC history — breaking the previous conference record of eight. She now owns 10 SEC Awards in her career.

Chio and the LSU Tigers will continue their road action this Friday, January 16, as they take on No. 8 Georgia at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network inside Stegman Coliseum.

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