Nate’s NCAA News + Notes!

Nate’s NCAA News + Notes Week 5!

By Nate Salsman

Gymnast of the Week

Congratulations to LSU’s Kailin Chio on being Inside Gymnastics Gymnast of the Week for Week 5! 

Chio is proving to be a freshman standout this season! This week, she earned a 39.650 in the All-Around to help LSU defeat Missouri 198.000-197.175! Chio’s incredible day was highlighted by her 9.950 beam routine! 

Congratulations to Ian Sandoval from the University of Illinois for being Inside Gymnastics Gymnast of the Week for Week 4! Sandoval won two event titles this weekend on floor and parallel bars. He also won the All-Around with a score of 79.250 to help Illinois defeat Nebraska 321.300-320.800. 

Event Leaders

Women’s NCAA Event Leaders 

All-Around: Jade Carey (Oregon State) – 39.694

Vault: Nikki Smith (Michigan State)- 9.925

Bars: Audrey Davis (Oklahoma) – 9.950

Beam: Jade Carey (Oregon State) – 9.956 

Floor: Brooklyn Moors (UCLA)- 9.935

Men’s NCAA Event Leaders 

All-Around: Taylor Burkhart (Stanford) – 82.150

Floor: Charlie Larson (Michigan) – 14.017

Pommel Horse: Patrick Hoopes (Air Force) – 14.650

Rings: Asher Hong (Stanford) – 14.325

Vault: Garrett Schooley (Illinois) – 14.350

Parallel Bars: Paul Juda (Michigan) – 14.050

High Bar: Emre Dodanil (Oklahoma) -13.950 and Kelton Christiansen (Oklahoma) 13.950

Team Rankings

Routines of the Week! 

This week, Kara Eaker made her competition debut as a Georgia gymnast! She performed a difficult side aerial + layout step out and capped the routine off with a stuck dismount to earn a 9.925, all framed by her trademark artistry and impeccable style. The former Utah and Elite gymnast after the meet said, “It means everything to me. I am just really looking forward to continuing that energy for the rest of season.” We love seeing Eaker competing again!

Cal’s Aiden Li earned a massive 14.650 on pommel horse to help him earn his third straight pommel horse title! His score was the nation’s best of the week and tied for the country’s third-highest score of the season. That number also outpaced the meet’s second place by .800.

Monster Scores

The UCLA vs. Michigan State dual meet was full of fire and the first ever gymnastics meet live on FOX! UCLA took the win 197.300-197.200, but both teams got to display their excellence in a meet that lived up to every minute of the hype!

In front of a capacity crowd of 10,681, UCLA earned a 49.800 on floor, the highest floor score of the season! Brooklyn Moors and Chae Campbell both earned near-perfect 9.975s, and set up Jordan Chiles for perfection. She stuck her opening double layout cold and both judges agreed that it was worthy of a 10.0! As a fitting celebration to alumni night, confetti dazzled the arena the moment Chiles landed her final tumbling pass. “That was incredible,” UCLA head coach Janelle McDonald said of her team’s fight to the finish and Chiles’ 10. “It was one of those moments in sport that you live for.”

Michigan State put up the highest score of the season on their strongest event, vault! The 49.600 scoring rotation was highlighted by three 9.950s from Sage Kellerman, Nikki Smith and Olivia Zsarmani! 

#Skillz of the Week! 

Missouri’s Amari Celestine brings the uniqueness with her bars dismount! The dismount is a stalder circle to a piked salto forward with a half turn, and it’s called the “Celestine”! This routine earned a 9.900 and helped Celestine earn a career high All-Around score of 39.475!

North Carolina’s Jess Naranjo’s career-high 9.925 on beam is now tied for fourth all-time in program history! Love the front aerial immediate layout stepout combination! Beautiful!

198 Alert 

LSU has officially joined the 198 club along with the Florida Gators! The Tigers soared through their meet, bouncing back after a tough loss to Arkansas last week. A highlight for LSU was their vault rotation, where they stuck four out of their six vaults! They earned a total of 49.550 on the event. 

Hit that Celly! 

Mizzou gymnastics is on the rise and they continue to bring the fun to college gymnastics! Mara Titarsolej and Hannah Horton showcase that with their celebrations after strong routines! Titarsolej earned a 9.925 on bars and Horton did the same on vault! 

News + Noteworthy

• Missouri’s Helen Hu got her second 9.975 of the season this week on beam! LSU coach Jay Clark notably mentioned in the press conference following the meet that Hu’s score should have been a 10.

Oklahoma is getting closer and closer to the 198 mark! This week they earned 197.825.

• The Georgia Gymdogs continue to rise! This week they defeated longtime conference rival Alabama 196.975-196.575!

• Kentucky gymnastics is soaring! They took down Auburn 197.050-196.600! The meet was highlighted by Skylar Kilough-Wilhelm’s 9.950 on bars!

• Michigan’s Kayli Boozer scored a 9.950 with a great beam set!

• Cal’s Mya Lauzon earned a massive 39.650 in All-Around to help Cal defeat N.C. State 197.175-196.550.

• Stanford’s Anna Roberts had a night posting a career best 9.950 on vault and a 9.95 on bars! She also took home her third consecutive All-Around title!
• Oklahoma Men’s Gymnastics took down Ohio State 322.900-316.300. Matt Burgoyne earned a 14.050 on rings to help the Sooners to victory and retain the No.1 spot in the National Rankings.

• Illinois’ Sam Phillips shared a heartbreaking post regarding his season ended injury. We wish him all the best wherever the road leads next!

• In a tough and highly competitive meet against Florida and Utah, West Virginia hit a season high beam, floor and team all-around score this weekend! 
• Air Force Women’s Gymnastics broke the program’s team all-around record on Friday evening scoring a 195.775 to defeat San Jose State and Hamline University. 
• Fisk’s Morgan Price won the All-Around title with a 39.325 in a quad meet against Maryland, Utica and Rutgers. 
• Temple debuted a leotard honoring former student Tyler Sabapathy.

• NC State had their first sellout crowd EVER! For the first time in program history, there wasn’t an empty seat in Reynolds Coliseum for a gymnastics meet!! 
• Rhode Island broke their program vault record with a score of 48.050 in their win against NCGA opponents Ithaca, Springfield and Ursinus!

So Far This Season

Women’s Inside Gymnastics Gymnast of the Week: 

Week 1: Aleah Finnegan (LSU)

Week 2: Jordan Bowers (Oklahoma)

Week 3: Jade Carey (Oregon State)

Week 4: Selena Harris-Miranda (Florida)

Week 5: Kailin Chio (LSU)

Routine of the Week:

Week 1: Brooklyn Moors/UCLA (9.900 Floor) and Nikki Smith/Michigan State (9.950 Vault) 

Week 2: Jordan Chiles/UCLA (9.975 Floor)

Week 3: Helen Hu/Mizzou (10.0 Beam) 

Week 4: Marissa Neal/Auburn   (9.975 Beam) 

Week 5: Kara Eaker/Georgia (Beam 9.925) and Jordan Chiles/UCLA (10.0 Floor)

Men’s Inside Gymnastics Gymnast of the Week:

Week 1: Kameron Nelson (Ohio State)

Week 2: Colt Walker (Stanford) and Sam Phillips (Illinois)

Week 3: Taylor Burkhart (Stanford)

Week 4: Ian Sandoval (Illinois)

Routine of the Week:

Week 1: Ignacio Yockers/Oklahoma (14.450), Patty Hoopes/Air Force (14.350) and Parker Thackston/Ohio State (14.500) (Pommel Horse) 

Week 2: Brandon Dang/Illinois (14.700 Pommel Horse) 

Week 3: Charlie Larson/Michigan (14.050 Floor) 

Week 4: Aidan Li/Cal (14.650 Pommel Horse)

Look for Nate’s NCAA Notes each week and stay tuned to InsideGym.com and Inside Gymnastics magazine for spotlight features and interviews throughout the 2025 season!

Nate Salsman, Della Fowler, Megan Roth and Christy Sandmaier provide NCAA coverage for Inside Gymnastics.

Photos by Lloyd Smith for Inside Gymnastics magazine.

FOR MORE! 

Inside the Matchup!

Helen Hu, Behind the 10

Brooklyn Moors Shines Early In Her Senior Season

In His Own Words: Nikolai Kolesnikov

eMjae Frazier: Ready For More

Sam Phillips: His Own Take

Breaking Down the Men’s Code of Points

Men’s NCAA Coaches Address Changes

For our Men’s NCAA Preview Part 1, Click Here

For our Men’s NCAA Preview Part 2, Click Here!

For the 2025 NCAA Season Schedule, Click Here!

For our 2025 NCAA Women’s Preview, Click Here!

For the 2025 WCGA Coaches Poll, Click Here!

For our feature on Utah’s Jaylene Gilstrap, Click Here!

For our feature on Lily Smith and the Georgia GymDogs, Click Here!

For our look at Mizzou, Click Here!

Why Paul Juda Is Ready for 2025!

Brody Malone to Compete in 2025!

Four Up, Four Count. John Roethlisberger’s Take!

Missing the Olympics? NCAA Gymnastics Could Be Your Fix!

Stay tuned to InsideGym.com and follow us @InsideGym for all the latest!

For our look at the Class of 2026, Click Here!

Photos by Lloyd Smith for Inside Gymnastics