“The Pioneers” is an apt name for Texas Woman’s gymnastics, which has consistently raised the bar for what it means to be a Division II NCAA program. This weekend, Texas Woman’s stood out from the rest to achieve its second title in two years at the 2026 WCGNICs. The Pioneers pulled firmly into the lead early on, finishing ahead of SEMO by a full point, which mirrored last year’s results nearly to the tenth.
Starting on beam, the Pioneers garnered a 48.425, a mediocre total when compared to typical results from this season. The slower start lit a fire in their hearts, and they went on to match their season high on floor, peaking with a 9.900 from Sophia Isbell and a huge 9.925 from Kylie Minard for her intense horror-themed routine. TWU kept things moving consistently in the second half and used that momentum to notch a 195.300 for the winning total.
But not everything has been all sunshine and rainbows for the Pioneers as of late. The team has dealt with a number of injuries, particularly to key contributor Kyleigh Ghanbari late in the season. Head coach Lisa Bowerman noted that when faced with these challenges, her team “handled it with the right [attitude]. Everything we did was for the team and never one person,” she said.
Ghanbari had been a crucial component of the greater machine that is the TWU vault and floor lineups. She was sidelined with an ankle injury during the MIC championship last weekend where TWU fell to SEMO. Ghanbari made her return in the WCGNIC team final on vault and floor, where she was able to set up for Isbell and Minard’s massive scores. With the championship win, the Pioneers secured a bit of revenge against SEMO, and a boost of pride for the Texas Woman’s name. “We want to keep making history, keep doing things that have never been done, and they know that’s what they’re coming [to Texas Woman’s] for,” said Bowerman.
The Pioneers frequently keep in step with DI teams, this season claiming victory over Arizona, Oregon State, Pittsburgh, and Arizona State, and even standing its ground against No. 1 Oklahoma just earlier this month. As a high-performing DII team, Texas Woman’s has a certain standard to uphold. Bowerman understands that potential recruits are aware of the high expectations that are inherent to the program. The Pioneers are driven by it: “they know what expectations are; they come here for that. They’re all excited to come and be a part of this legacy,” Bowerman said.
Isbell is one of the gymnasts actively forging that legacy, delivering the highest number of points for the Pioneers in 2026 competing on vault, beam, and floor. She served as the anchor on all three events for the majority of the season, and when the pressure is on, she knows how to hit. “I just remember [that] I’m doing it for my team, and just going out there and being me, surrendering the outcome, because I know that’s all my team needs,” said Isbell.
Up next for Isbell is the Tempe regional, where she qualified as an individual on vault. Joining her in Tempe will be Ghanbari, also on vault, and Sophie Hernandez on floor. Bowerman sees individual qualification not only as an achievement for each athlete, but as a stepping stone to future accomplishments. “They’ll use the excitement, the experience, and bring that back to the team…all three of them will return next year, and they know that they’re going to regionals to represent their team,” she said. Bowerman wants ultimate success for the program, and the next major goal is for the Pioneers to qualify for regionals as a team. The last DII program to do so was Lindenwood in 2019.
With this weekend’s victory, Texas Woman’s claimed its fifth national win in 10 years, enough to establish it as a dynasty. Under Bowerman’s strong leadership and unwavering faith in the Texas Woman’s program, the Pioneers have already lived up to their name with no plans to stop. They’ve already reached the peak multiple times—it wouldn’t be surprising for them to summit the next mountain too.
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Article by Frances Leadman
