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LSU claims SEC regular season championship

Mar 14, 2025 | 11:25 PM

(photo credit: @LSUgym on X)

AUBURN, Ala.– For the third time in program history, the No. 2 LSU Gymnastics team (11-2, 7-1 SEC) were named 2025 SEC Regular Season Champions after defeating No. 14 Auburn (10-6, 3-5 SEC) by a score of 198.200-197.550 in their regular season finale on Friday night inside Neville Arena.
The Tigers share the regular season title with No. 1 Oklahoma, who own the same 7-1 conference record after defeating No. 9 Georgia tonight. It’s the first regular season title for LSU in six years, having previously won in 2017 and 2018.
LSU’s score of 198.200 on the night marked their second highest score on the road in the regular season in program history, only trailing a 198.425 scored in the 2024 Podium Challenge. The highlight of the night came in the second rotation when freshman phenom Kailin Chio scored the first 10.00 of her collegiate career on vault, the second consecutive week that an LSU Tiger posted a perfect score.
The LSU Tigers swept all five titles on the night. Chio won vault with her perfect score, senior Haleigh Bryant claimed bars with a 9.975, beam with a 9.950 and the all around with a 39.775 while senior Aleah Finnegan took home the floor title with a 9.975.
“I don’t think there’s any question that that was our best road performance. Ever since Arkansas, I’ve challenged them to continue to improve on the road, and they’ve done it. That meet was every bit worthy of that score,” said head coach Jay Clark. “I’m really pleased with how they closed this thing out. We had a great regular season and now we can say that we’re champions. We completed that phase of our season, and now we’re onto the grind of the postseason.”
Freshman Lexi Zeiss led off the night on bars with a 9.850, followed by a 9.900 from junior Ashley Cowan in the second spot. The third spot saw Finnegan hit a career high with a 9.950, followed by a 9.900 from Chio in spot four. Sophomore Konnor McClain scored a 9.875 in the fifth spot before Bryant anchored the rotation with a season-high 9.975 to close out a strong first rotation with a 49.600 team score.
After the first rotation, LSU led by a margin of 49.600-49.425.
The visiting Tigers moved on to vault for the second rotation, with senior KJ Johnson leading things off with a 9.875. In the second spot, Zeiss hit a career high with a 9.900 and was followed by Finnegan, who posted a 9.900 of her own in spot three. Sophomore Amari Drayton scored a 9.800 in the fourth spot to keep things rolling for the Tigers.
The fifth spot saw Chio execute a perfect yurchenko one and half to earn her first career 10.00. She became the first freshman in the nation to earn a perfect score this season, and it’s only the third 10.00 score on vault across the nation this year. Her perfect score was also the second by an LSU Tiger this season, joining Finnegan’s 10.00 on beam last weekend against Georgia.
Bryant wrapped up rotation two on vault for the Tigers with a 9.900, taking the team’s score to a 49.575. At the halfway point, LSU led by a score of 99.175-98.825.
Rotation three took the Tigers to the floor, where sophomore Kylie Coen led off the event with a 9.875. Graduate student Sierra Ballard matched Coen with a 9.875 of her own in the second spot, followed by a strong 9.925 from Chio in spot three. Drayton posted a 9.925 in the fourth spot before Finnegan matched her season high on floor with a 9.975. The anchor spot saw Bryant close out the rotation with a 9.95, taking the team score in the event to a 49.650.
LSU extended their lead to 148.825-147.975 heading into the final rotation in Neville Arena.
The final rotation of the night saw LSU on beam, with Ballard opening the rotation with a 9.825. Coen scored a 9.825 in spot two, followed by a 9.825 in the third spot for Chio. McClain recorded a 9.900 in the fourth spot before Bryant finished the night strong with a solid 9.950 in spot five to clinch the all-around title. Finnegan anchored the night with a 9.875 to take LSU’s total for beam to a 49.375 and the team’s total score to a 198.200.
Bryant won the meet with her season high 39.775 in the all-around while also taking home the bars and beam titles. The senior moved her career total to 103 titles.
Chio’s perfect 10 on vault won her the title, her 20th this season and sixth on vault. The freshman has won at least one title in all but one competition so far this year.
Finnegan claimed her first floor title since the Tigers meet against Florida. The title was her 14th this year and 37th in her career.
The squad’s performance in Auburn marked the third consecutive week that the team scored over a 198.000, only the second time in program that such a streak has occurred in the regular season with the previous time coming in the 2024 season.
The 2025 SEC Championships will kick off at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 22 inside the Legacy Arena at The BJCC in Birmingham, Alabama. The Tigers are set to be the No. 2 seed and compete in the night session of the conference championship, with official announcements coming on Monday.