By ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
The LSU gymnastics team was one rotation away from capturing its second national championship in program history on Saturday. The Tigers needed a strong showing on beam to hold their lead over Oklahoma but initially came up short.
What a season. Cleared their own path to the championship.
— LSU Gymnastics (@LSUgym) April 18, 2026
Proud of this team 💜 pic.twitter.com/rEIQ7NXvZZ
Sophomore Lexi Zeiss fell on beam in the second spot of the final rotation, putting a great amount of pressure on the rest of the lineup. LSU was ultimately forced to count sophomore Kaliya Lincoln’s 9.8375. While many may focus on the fall, head coach Jay Clark made it clear the second-place finish was not solely on Zeiss.
“This isn’t about Lexi Zeiss,” Clark said after the meet on Saturday. “We can find a tenth all over the place. It takes five out of six on every event. It doesn’t take six out of six. She’s wearing it and shouldn’t, but that’s the kind of competitor she is and we wouldn’t have even been in the spot to think about winning if she hadn’t done what she did on the first two events, so she doesn’t need to wear that.”
Despite the result, Clark believes there is still plenty for the Tigers to be proud of. As it did all season, LSU continued to fight throughout the national championship. Junior Konnor McClain, who battled injuries over the past two weeks, delivered when it mattered most, while Lincoln competed through ongoing Achilles soreness.
Clark said he will always be proud of how his team proved doubters wrong and exceeded expectations on multiple occasions.
“I’ve been a part of a lot over the years and I don’t know if I’ve ever been prouder of a team,” Clark said. “They’re gutsy and they fought and fought and fought – through injury and all sorts of adversity, some of which was known and some which was not. There’s nothing for these kids to hang their heads about. They just did everything a coach could ask for them to do.”
Sophomore Kailin Chio, who recorded 13 perfect scores this season, said she will remember the 2026 team as one that never backed down from adversity.
“We haven’t had an easy way for any meet,” Chio said after the meet on Saturday. “Each meet, we’ve had to fight. There’s a few meets in there where we went through it, but we fought ‘til the very end and we just left it all out there and just told everyone we’re not done yet.”
Like Clark, Chio believes there are plenty of positives to take from the season, especially with key routines returning in 2027.
“Just really proud of this team,” Chio said. “We’re going to come back next year and get it done.”
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