What a weekend! After some of the fiercest and closest regional competitions across the country, we finally know the top eight teams, as well as the individuals, heading to Fort Worth, Texas, to compete for national titles in just two weeks. With so much happening all at once, you’re guaranteed to have missed something. Catch up on all the regionals action across the four host sites and three days of competition in the superlatives, results tables and recaps below.
Superlatives
Best Mother-Daughter Moment
The Durantes, Raleigh Regional
LSU and North Carolina both landed in the Raleigh regional, which meant Tiger senior Sami Durante was in the crowd to watch her mom Danna lead North Carolina to its round one win.
Best Shoes
Hailey Loftin, N.C. State SID
These are velvet. VELVET. Loftin was incredibly helpful all weekend, ensuring our editor Claire had everything she needed and even knew how to avoid festival traffic in Raleigh.
Biggest Mess
Seattle
Washington lost its gymnastics SID to a new job right before regionals—a tough spot for any athletic department. The person tasked with running the meet in their stead was…not prepared. There were issues with the regionals central site, a lack of access to score sheets and official premeet lineups and general confusion. It got messy behind the scenes and reinforced what a crucial role SIDs play in making the sport run smoothly.
Tough as Nails Award
Amber Koeth, Sacramento State, beam
Koeth had a tough fall on her series and clearly gave herself a huge thigh bruise that started forming instantly. After getting checked out by the medical staff, she remounted and nailed the rest of her gorgeous routine as the only gymnast left competing in the arena, which erupted in cheers for her.
Best Stick Item
Stanford, the Seattle stick
The Cardinal broke brackets and made a deep run, and we’d be remiss if we didn’t talk about its stick item. Stanford has been using a literal stick stick for a while, and this week’s is a local, having been picked selected to use from Seattle.
The Highlights
Auburn Regional
Nationals Qualifiers
- Teams: Florida, Auburn
- All around: Raena Worley, Kentucky
- Vault: Elexis Edwards, Ohio State
- Bars: Cally Nixon, Kentucky
- Beam: Abbie Thompson, Denver
- Floor: Hailey Davis, Kentucky
The Big Storyline: Florida showed no signs of slowing down momentum en route to its monstrous 198.775 total and regional win. The Gators came out swinging from the start, with Trinity Thomas earning her second consecutive 10.000 on floor. Auburn had an uncharacteristic start with Sunisa Lee hitting her heels on the low bar during her anchoring routine, but she and the Tigers brushed it off immediately in the next rotation, which culminated with Lee getting a 10.000 on beam. These two teams led following the second rotation and never faltered.
Individual Insights: Kentucky will still be represented well at nationals, with Nixon competing as a bars specialist for the second time in her career and Worley appearing in the all-around there for the first time after going as a vault specialist in 2021. Edwards was the only athlete to qualify off of a team that didn’t compete in the final. She will be the first Buckeye to go to nationals since Jamie Stone did so in 2018.
Don’t Forget Us: Kentucky did not capitalize on its Auburn-besting performance from Thursday night, but the Wildcats still put up an admirable total that ended on floor, which scored higher than any of their other events. Denver had falls on vault and beam but didn’t have to count either of them. The Pioneers also avoided any issues in their risky five-up five-count bars and floor lineups.
Records: Florida’s team score is the third highest in NCAA history; just a tenth more would have tied the record. Denver recorded top five beam and floor totals tonight.
What’s Next: Auburn and Florida will compete in semifinal two alongside Michigan and Missouri.
Norman Regional
Nationals Qualifiers
- Teams: Oklahoma, Minnesota
- All around: Kennedy Hambrick, Arkansas
- Vault: Gayla Griswold, Lindenwood
- Bars: Sarah Shaffer, Arkansas
- Beam: Sirena Linton, Arizona
- Floor: Jaye Mack, Illinois State
The Big Storyline: Both Oklahoma and Minnesota put out two nearly identical performances on Thursday and Saturday to finish first and second, respectively, and earn their spots at nationals. The all arounder-less Sooners posted the nation’s highest total in round two and had a great showing in front of a home crowd. The Gophers were able to dispel their beam woes from the season two meets in a row and their big three, Ona Loper, Lexy Ramler and Mya Hooten, were too much for the rest of the regional to handle.
Individual Insights: Lindenwood will be represented at NCAAs for the first time ever as Gayla Griswold was able to nab a berth thanks to an outstanding vault, and Illinois State notched its second-ever and second-straight qualifier as Jaye Mack came out ahead in a deep field on floor. Arizona’s Sirena Linton, after surviving the first round, knew on Thursday she’d be nationals bound after her beam set, while Razorback duo Sarah Shaffer and Kennedy Hambrick will be representing Arkansas.
Don’t Forget Us: In a rather straightforward regional, Arkansas was able to pull off the biggest “upset” in defeating higher-ranked and seeded Arizona State to make the regional final. Arizona was also able to defeat its in-state rival during that round two session after winning the First Four meet on Wednesday.
Records: Despite falling shy of qualifying to nationals, California posted a 49.525 on beam in the regional final for a new program high on the event.
What’s Next: The Sooners and Gophers will compete against qualifiers from the Seattle Regional, Alabama and Utah, in their NCAA Semifinal. All four teams in that semifinal were projected to be there based on their postseason seeds.
Raleigh Regional
Nationals Qualifiers
- Teams: Michigan, Missouri
- All around: Norah Flatley, UCLA
- Vault: Kiya Johnson, LSU
- Bars: Jordan Chiles, UCLA
- Beam: Adeline Kenlin, Iowa
- Floor: Jordan Chiles, UCLA
The Big Storyline: After upsetting SEC rivals LSU in round two, Missouri edged out UCLA by the narrowest possible margin to advance to nationals for just the second time in program history. Michigan and UCLA were tied heading into the third rotation with a half point lead over Missouri. However, the Tigers closed out on their two strongest events, beam and floor, while the Bruins had their weakest, beam.
Individual Insights: The Bruins’ Flatley has emerged as a top all-arounder during her senior campaign, beating out LSU’s Johnson for the individual all-around spot. Johnson will compete on vault, having won the tiebreaker over teammate and 2021 co-vault champion Haleigh Bryant. UCLA freshman Chiles claimed both the bars and floor spots outright. Iowa sophomore Adeline Kenlin, who suffered a scary beam crash at last year’s regionals, which controversially resulted in a zero, will advance to nationals in the individual spot on that same event. Talk about poetic justice!
Don’t Forget Us: Iowa closed out its season in spectacular fashion by earning a season high 197.075, the second highest postseason score in program history. The Hawkeyes entered regionals ranked No. 22 in the country and finished 15th. Head coach Larissa Libby said, “There is going to be nobody that looks at that competition and say we didn’t belong. We put our foot down on the pedal and went the whole time. We elevated with each event, and we stayed in the mix until the very last score.”
Records: Michigan’s Gabby Wilson notched her first perfect 10 on vault, becoming the fifth gymnast in the Wolverines’ lineup to earn a vault 10 this season. Missouri’s 197.425 is its highest ever regional score. This is the first time the Tigers have advanced to nationals since 2010, and the first time since they joined the SEC.
Controversies: In the final routine of the competition, Missouri freshman Amari Celestine’s foot landed on the line in her opening pass. Fans speculated that she was actually out of bounds and should have incurred an automatic one-tenth deduction, though the line judge—who was stationed at the corner in question—obviously did not agree.
What’s Next: Michigan and Missouri will be competing in the evening session alongside Auburn and Florida.
Seattle Regional
Nationals Qualifiers
- Teams: Utah, Alabama
- All around: Jade Carey (Oregon State)
- Vault: Mia Townes (Illinois)
- Bars: Mia Takekawa (Illinois)
- Beam: Skyla Schulte (Michigan State)
- Floor: Kyla Bryant (Stanford)
The Big Storyline: Stanford competed valiantly this weekend.The Cardinal delivered three meets over four days, notching a season best 197.450 in its second showing of the week and besting its previous score by nearly half a point and the second-best score at regionals in program history. The Cardinal and its stick stick were made of gratitude and magic. Michigan State just narrowly beat out Washington and Oregon State to compete Saturday night, where the Spartans scored a season high among tough competition, adding three tenths to their score from just a few days earlier. Utah was in a precarious position in the final rotation with a beam fall and a hit needed to advance to its record 46th-consecutive national championships. Kara Eaker and Maile O’Keefe turned in clutch performances, scoring back-to-back perfect 10s to not only clinch the Utes’ spot but give them the regional win. Just behind Utah, Alabama notched its own second-highest score in school history with a 198.175. Defending floor national champion Lexi Graber closed the meet out for Alabama with a 9.950.
Individual Insights: Jade Carey is the notable individual qualifying to nationals. Mia Townes and Mia Takekawa will take their routines on the road together, representing Illinois on vault and bars, respectively. After Michigan State just missed qualifying a team, Skyla Schulte will be heading to Texas for beam. Kyla Bryant will be giving the world the gift of her full-in on floor one more time after Stanford’s marathon week came to an end. She’ll be the first individual qualifier for Stanford since 2018.
Don’t Forget Us: Washington had an incredible run this season, ending 2021 at No. 42 and closing out this season in 21st, nearly qualifying for the regional final. Oregon State and Michigan State both put up incredible fights. The Beavers missed out on advancing to the third round by just a quarter-tenth, and the Spartans showed they’re a team with depth and talent at every corner.
Records: Alabama walked away with the highest postseason score in school history scoring a 198.175. Michigan State’s own 197.650 was an overall program record. The Spartans also set postseason team records with a 49.200 on vault and bars with a 49.225. Utah will head to nationals for a record 46th consecutive season. The Red Rocks’ 198.200 is the highest in postseason program history, and O’Keefe’s three 10s on beam this season is the most in a single season for a Utah gymnast.
What’s Next: Utah and Alabama will be moving forward to compete in semifinal one against Oklahoma and Minnesota.
Full Results
Click and expand the events below to see results.
Raleigh Regional Round One
Auburn Regional Round One
Norman Regional Round One
Seattle Regional Round One
Raleigh Regional Round Two Session One
Auburn Regional Round Two Session One
Norman Regional Round Two Session One
Seattle Regional Round Two Session One
Raleigh Regional Round Two Session Two
Auburn Regional Round Two Session Two
Norman Regional Round Two Session Two
Seattle Regional Round Two Session Two
Raleigh Regional Final
Auburn Regional Final
Norman Regional Final
Seattle Regional Final
READ THIS NEXT: Projected Individual Qualifiers for the 2022 National Championships
Article by the editors of College Gym News
Like what you see? Consider donating to support our efforts throughout the year! [wpedon id=”13158″]
One comment