2021 USAG National Champions

2022 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI GYMNASTICS GUIDE 2021 USA GYMNASTICS NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

Southeast Missouri women’s gymnastics captured the 2021 USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate National Championship April 10, at the Show Me Center with a team-score of 195.025. Trailing Lindenwood 145.725145.650 entering the final rotation, SEMO tied a program-best 49.375 on beam to secure the Championship.

“Today was magical,” head coach Ashley Lawson said of the Championship. “It’s hard to even put it into words. As a team this group set this goal back in August and to have it become reality today is nothing shy of amazing. Our beam team was stellar!! To know we were behind and they all had to hit, was a big task, but to exceed that expectation and knock it out of the park was phenomenal.”

The beam mark Saturday matched the 2003 MIC Championships (March 29, 2003) where Lawson (then Godwin) led SEMO on the event with a 9.975.

SEMO’s gymnasts Saturday did not tally a beam score under 9.825. Anna Kaziska led the way with a personal-best 9.925 to tie for second overall in the SEMO record books on the event and improve on her career-best set in 2020. Freshman beam specialist Anna Speller added a career-best 9.900 to tie for sixth all-time in SEMO history. Molly Maxwell, Jolie Miller and Alana Fischer chipped in career-best 9.850s. Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso, the 2021 USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate National All-Around Champion, earned a 9.825, which was dropped as the Redhawks lowest score.

Solorzano-Caruso won the allaround crown with 39.225, which tied for 11th in SEMO history. Molly Maxwell finished fourth in the all-around with a total of 37.975.

“Dahlia had an amazing meet today,” Lawson said of SolorzanoCaruso. “She consistently did her job on every event and the outcome was her season-high all-around score, and a National Championship.”

SEMO opened the Championships with a 49.075 on floor. The SEMO floor score was the 13th best mark in school history.

The Redhawks then recorded a 48.900 on vault. The mark tied for the seventh-highest score in SEMO program history.

SEMO went to its third rotation bye with 97.975. The Redhawks posted a 47.675 on bars in the fourth rotation of the day.

Makenzie Marciniak was awarded the Mari Rae Sopper Spirit Award at the conclusion of the Championships. Lawson was also named the Ken Anderson USAG Coach of the Year for the second-straight season and Andavea Alexander was selected as the USAG Assistant Coach of the Year.

SEMO earned 18 All American selections including 17 First Team nods.

Solorzano-Caruso was named a First Team All American for all-around, bars, beam and floor. Kaziska garnered First Team laurels for vault, beam and floor.

Miller was named a First Team All American for bars and beam.

Molly Maxwell was named to the First Team for all-around and beam and the Second Team for floor.

Sanders (vault), Gabrielle Adams (vault), Lindsey Bates (bars), Anna Speller (beam), Fischer (beam) and Jordan Jones (floor) were also awarded First Team honors.