Even though the season technically started last week, it’s the first meet for these two teams and my first live blog of the season, so this should be fun for everyone! The Wolfpack come into 2026 after finishing in the top 20 last year. While some nostalgic favorites have graduated (I’m still mourning Chloe Negrete), they reloaded with one of the top freshmen in former five-star recruit Emerson Fisk and have strong leadership in their upperclassmen, headlined by Meg Adler and Ashley Knight. Fans should be looking to see how N.C. State fills in the holes left behind by last year’s senior class and builds on its success from last year.
Auburn was a tenth of a point away from advancing to the national championship as a team last year, finishing just outside of the top ten. We last saw Auburn at its preview meet in December, and it showed a lot of depth heading into 2026, competing seven to ten routines per event. Notably missing was sophomore Katelyn Jong, who tore her Achilles midseason last year, and Paige Zancan, the Tigers’ top NQS on vault and a key contributor on beam and floor. We’ll be watching to see if they reappear in lineups tonight; they could add a big boost to an already strong Auburn team. Look for national qualifier Olivia Greaves to make a splash as well; she competed all four events at Auburn’s preview meet and looked solid.
You can watch tonight’s meet on SECN+ or follow along with live stats on Virtius!
Early lineups are out. Auburn is without Jong again tonight, but Zancan is back on vault, so that’s a good sign considering those rumors that have been floating around lately! Adler is not in any lineups for the Wolfpack, so I’ll keep an eye out and see what might be going on with that.
You know it’s season when your stream is delayed……….
Okay so…there are scores. But no stream. Not really sure what’s going on, but I’ll try to at least give the scores until I know what is happening.
I now have clips! So I am now partially blogging a meet based off of Instagram clips. Welcome to 2026, guys.
Rotation 1: Auburn VT, NC State UB
O. Greaves (AUB) – Y full, 9.625
Myers (NCST) – 9.725
Leverton (AUB) – Y 1.5, 9.850
Rusk (NCST) – 9.875
Neal (AUB) – Y 1.5, tiny knee bend in the air, small hop forward on the landing. 9.850
Reid (NCST) – 9.875
Huff (AUB) – Y 1.5, 9.875, got a 9.900 from one judge.
seriously, did someone forget to hit the start stream button???
Hadrick (NCST) – 9.775.
Bell (AUB) – 9.925, if she did the double full and pulled out that score, that’ll be impressive! (Update, she did in fact do the double full, had some leg separation in the air, but stuck it cold.)
https://x.com/AuburnGym/status/2009798302594748471?s=20
Volk (NCST) – 9.000, looks like her SV was a 9.8 instead of 10, I’ll be interested to see where the issue was.
Zancan (AUB) – she’s alive! and with an interesting looking hip wrap? her usual vault, got the landing with a bit of a knee bend. 9.975.
Harper (NCST) – Okay, so this was originally a 9.975 listed, but I’m guessing it was incorrect because now it’s a 9.800. What is happening?
AFTER ONE: Auburn 49.475, N.C. State 49.050
Buckle up guys, this is about to be an interesting night if they can’t get the stream up soon. Auburn’s scores were no lower than a 9.850, topped off with Zancan’s 9.975. The Wolfpack couldn’t quite climb into the 9.900s, but were led by Reid’s 9.875.
The crash out is real, y’all.
Rotation 2: NC State VT, Auburn UB
Wright (NCST) – Y full, 9.850
Neal (AUB) – (clip courtesy of X) toe-hand to start, Maloney to Pak, really nice form in the air. Half pirouette on top of the bar, toe full to double tuck stuck, nice high chest on the landing. 9.875, career high.
Hall (NCST) – Y full, 9.775
Bartman (AUB) – 9.575
Rardin (NCST) – 9.725
Huff (AUB) – 9.775, collegiate debut on this event.
Myers (NCST) – 9.750
Booth (AUB) – 9.800, collegiate debut. Saw her dismount, it was a DLO with a hop back on the landing.
Thomas (NCST) – Y full, 9.850
O. Greaves (AUB) – 9.800
Knight (NCST) – 9.925
Irvine (AUB) – 9.750
AFTER TWO: Auburn 98.475, N.C. State 98.100
Auburn keeps its lead after barely breaking 49 on bars. What happened to get them to that point? Good question. N.C. State (apparently) shook off some early nerves from bars and hit a (supposedly) solid set on vault to put them behind by just under four tenths.
Update: Apparently, ESPN is having “technical difficulties” and that’s why the meet is not streaming right now. Am I in the twilight zone or something?
YAY I HAVE A STREAM, THANK YOU HULU FOR NOT RUINING MY ENTIRE NIGHT
Rotation 3: Auburn BB, NC State FX
Ahern (AUB) – 9.800.
Harper (NCST) – Coming in right at the end of this routine, just hit her Rudi final pass with a couple steps back on the landing. 9.775
Hagle (AUB) – front aerial to BHS series, really nice connection between the skills. Slight balance check on the side aerial, split jump to stag jump to BHS swingdown. Loving the uniqueness of her skills here and she seems really confident. Gainer pike dismount, immediately gets emotional. So happy for her! 9.825
Rusk (NCST) – Double pike, apparently stayed in bounds, sizable step back. Front layout to front full, slipped up after the front full. Nice lines on the leap series, would’ve liked a bit more height in the jumps. 9.750
O. Greaves (AUB) – Double wolf turn to open, little off steady but stays on. BHS LOSO series, was off on the layout and had a balance check. Her leap series looked solid, gainer pike dismount with a hop to finish! 9.775
Fisk (NCST) – Former five-star recruit debut loading. Double pike to open, nice high chest. Switch ring to switch half to wolf full, solid positions in the air. Back 1.5 to front layout for her second pass, got the layout around and I really wasn’t sure she was going to at first. Solid debut for the freshman!
Huff (AUB) – side aerial LOSO series, spot on. Split jump to straddle quarter, had a tiny balance check after the straddle. Beat jump was nice and pretty. BHS side gainer full with a step to the side. I love how quickly they move through these routines.
Rardin (NCST) – front layout to 1.5 to split jump, lots of height on that jump! Lacked some split on her first leap in her series, but had solid rotation. Back 1.5 to front layout on her second pass, I do like her choreography on this, she’s a sneaky good freshman to keep your eye on. 9.850
Wehry (AUB) – First routine as a Auburn Tiger! BHS LOSO, spot on. Side aerial to two feet and takes a fall. Greaves’ 9.775 will now count. Leaps were well above 180. Overrotates the full turn slightly, front gainer full dismount with a stick. When she cleans up that Barani, that’ll be a nice high score at the end of the lineup. 9.150
Hadrick (NCST) – front layout to front 1.5, her twist was nice and tight and had lots of height. Switch half to wolf 1.5, getting a lot of height on her leaps while working through this routine. Final pass is a back 1.5 to front layout, gets her second landing there as well. 9.875
Neal (AUB) – Following a fall from Wehry, needs a hit. Triple series, slight balance check after the second layout but stays on. Switch leap to split jump, pretty 180 in the air. RO 1.5 dismount, underrotated with a tiny hop back.
Thomas (NCST) – Coming off three back to back scores of 9.800 plus, opens with a HUGE double pike, had a lot of height, controlled step back on the landing. Front layout to front 1.5, this music is very dramatic, but I kinda love it? Back 1.5 to front layout to close it out, what a gorgeous anchor routine. Wolfpack will drop a 9.750
AFTER THREE: Auburn 147.600, N.C. State 147.350
If you hung around during the first half of this, thanks a lot! Now that I can actually SEE what’s going on, the Wolfpack are looking really good through three. Thomas’s floor routine ties for the highest score of the night for her team, cutting Auburn’s lead down to two and a half tenths heading to the final rotation.
Also, Alex Irvine exhibitioned on beam and got the highest score of the night at a 9.900. Insane.
Rotation 4: NC State BB, Auburn FX
Harper (NCST) – BHS LOSO, some knee form in the air. Beat jump to straddle 3/4, cat leap to switch side, nice height but not quite 180 degrees in the split. Front toss, love that added bit of difficulty. Tucked front full from the end of the beam, got the stick. No major errors, just a couple minor things to improve on. 9.775
Bartman (AUB) – Back 1.5 to front layout to open, nice rise on the layout. Leap series had lots of height, nails her double wolf turn, gets the double pike on the final pass. Solid opening routine for Bartman! 9.850
Thomas (NCST) – Solid full turn, Front aerial to BHS, straight knees all the way through. Lacked some split on her leap series, but definitely had the height above the beam. BHS gainer full with a stuck landing. 9.850
Irvine (AUB) – opens with a triple turn, but only gets it around two and a half. FHS front 1.5 to stag jump, steps out of bounds. Nice height and rotation on her leap series! She looks like she’s having so much fun! Gets her final pass, had a bit of a form break on her twists at the end but much better landing. 9.625
Volk (NCST) – BHS BHS LOSO, some bent knees in the air but solid on the landing. Switch leap to tuck 3/4, unique combination! Front toss, no movement at the end. Side gainer full with a stick. Three sticks in a row on beam for the Wolfpack! 9.850
Ahern (AUB) – Pretty wolf turn to open. FHS Rudi to layout step out, some knee form in the Rudi, BARELY stayed in bounds from this angle. Back 1.5 to front full second pass, switch side to straddle jump, nice split in the air on her series as she finishes. Good follow up after Irvine’s routine. 9.850
Rardin (NCST) – Front toss to BHS, solid. Slightly overrotated the full turn but covers it well. Beat jump, pretty. Switch leap to split jump, not sure if she’ll get the connection credit, she had a tiny pause between skills. Switch leap to gainer pike, slight wobble of the arms with the chest down, but gets the stick as well.
Huff (AUB) – Finishing her all-around night! Tucked full-in, Auburn’s first E-pass of the night, controlled step out of it. Beautiful extension on her leap series! Front layout front full punch front, would’ve liked to see her use a little more of the floor on that, had a little bit of knee form throughout. Short and sweet. 9.900
Another judge’s conference, it’s giving “they aren’t going to give her the full SV”. I just saw the judge tell the coach that they broke a connection. Start value was a 9.7/9.75 split.
Tackett (NCST) – Split 3/4 to open, solid rotation. Front aerial with a balance check, goes for the BHS LOSO series. Good height on the leap series, shows off her flexibility (helen hu, I miss you). BHS 1.5, waves her arms but gets another stick for the beam lineup. 9.750
O. Greaves (AUB) – So so happy to see her in the all-around tonight. Front tuck through to double tuck, good rise in the double tuck. Switch ring to switch ring half, her ring position was beautiful on the second pass. Finishes with a double pike. Auburn’s strategy appears to be short and sweet and to the point on floor this season and I don’t totally hate it. 9.950.
Hall (NCST) – BHS LOSO, waist bend and her hands hit the beam. Unfortunately, means that Rardin’s 9.500 is going to count. Front aerial to beat jump, recovered well after that miss. Side gainer full to close. 9.475
Bell (AUB) – Final counting routine of the night! Front double full to front layout, underrotates the front layout and takes a slide back. WOW, the height she has throughout this routine is absolutely insane. High double pike to close, controlled landing. Mic drop to close. That Huff- Greaves-Bell trio at the end of the lineup is going to be big this season, count on it.
FINAL: Auburn 197.150, N.C. State 196.075
Solid opening meet for both teams! Auburn shined on floor, capping off its night with three straight 9.900s including back-to-back 9.950s. N.C. State had some issues with connections on beam that affected some start values, but once it cleans that up, they could be a sneaky good beam team. This was…an interesting night, I’m glad we finally got to actually WATCH gymnastics, let’s just hope ESPN fixes its app before tomorrow.
VT: Zancan (AUB) – 9.975
UB: Neal (AUB) and Reid (N.C. State) – 9.875
BB: Ahern, Neal (AUB), Thomas and Volk (NCST) – 9.850
FX: Bell and O. Greaves (AUB) – 9.950
AA: Huff (AUB) – 39.375
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Live blog by Savanna Wellman
ESPN hasn’t put any of the gymnastics 8:00 gymnastics streams up. Somebody in the control room is too busy watching football, I guess.