Gymnast of the Week awards are given by conference offices.
Gymnast of the Week
Emily Shepard – NC State
Shepard recorded an all-around score of 39.750, putting together one of the best performances in NC State history. Her score not only marked the best four-event score in the Wolfpack record books, but is the highest all-around score from any of the four ACC schools. North Carolina’s Courtney Bumpers’ held the previous record of 39.725 from 2004. The Olathe, Kansas, native became the first gymnast in program history to record a 9.9+ in all four events during the same meet. Shepard set a pair of career bests during the meet, with a 9.975 on bars and a 9.950 on beam. The fifth-year senior opened the meet with a team-high 9.900 on vault and ended the day with a 9.925 on floor during the Wolfpack’s final rotation. Shepard took solo first-place honors on bars and claimed the all-around crown, while tying for first place on beam and landing a pair of second-place finishes on vault and floor. She has tallied nine 9.9+ scores this season with a program-best 47 over her career.
Specialist of the Week
Chloe Negrete – NC State
Negrete competed in three events for the Wolfpack, posting two scores of 9.9+ in NC State’s 197.575-196.000 victory over Clemson. She finished on the podium in two events, registering a third-place finish on beam with a 9.900 and a first place finish on floor with a meet-high 9.950. The Frisco, Texas, native anchored the Pack’s lineup on vault, tabbing a 9.850 and continuing her streak of 9.8+ scores on vault this season. Negrete’s effort helped the Wolfpack post its second-highest score all-time and the highest score of the Kim Landrus era on Saturday, with NC State additionally claiming the ACC regular season crown as the Wolfpack now sits at 5-0 in league action.
Newcomer of the Week
Ashley Knight – NC State
Knight registered the first 9.9+ score of her career with a 9.900 on floor in the Pack’s win over Clemson. Her 9.900 on floor helped push NC State to its best floor total of the season with a 49.500 during its final rotation, one of three season-highs for the Wolfpack after a 49.250 on vault and a 49.450 on bars. The Greensboro, North Carolina, native not only set a new career high on floor at 9.900, she also matched her career high on vault with a 9.875. The freshman’s scores helped push NC State to its second-highest score in program history,with a 197.575.
Gymnast of the Week
Sierra Brooks – Michigan
Co-Event Specialists of the Week
Sage Kellerman – Michigan State
Nicole Riccardi – Ohio State
Cpo-Freshmen of the Week
Eva Volpe – Iowa
Kalea McElligott – Penn State
Gymnast of the Week
Faith Torrez – Oklahoma
Torrez, the reigning Newcomer of the Year, earned her second Big 12 gymnastics nod of the season after she posted a career-high all-around score of 39.650 competing against Cal, Arkansas and Washington. The sophomore registered a 9.950 on the balance beam while the same score tied for first with her floor routine. She placed second on vault with a 9.900 and tallied a 9.850 on the uneven bars. Torrez sits within the top 10 in the nation on the balance beam and the all-around leaderboards.
Specialist of the Week
Keira Wells – Oklahoma
Wells secured her second Big 12 gymnastics weekly award and her first Event Specialist honor this season with a 9.925 on vault. The freshman, along with teammate Faith Torrez, were two of five gymnasts to earn a 9.9 or above on the event. Securing her first event title, Wells led the Sooners to a team vault score of 49.450 and contributed to the team’s first-place finish with a final score of 198.300.
Newcomer of the Week
Madison Ulrich – Denver
Ulrich garnered a podium finish in three events and the all-around during a Big 12 tri-meet of Denver and Iowa State at West Virginia. She placed third on floor with a 9.900 and tied for second with a score of 9.875 for her balance beam performance. The freshman earned her first score above 9.950 as she was 0.025 points away from a perfect score on bars to claim her first title win in the event. Denver pulled a team score of 49.600 from the bars lineup, which set a program record in the event during an away meet. Ulrich ended her weekend with a 9.800 on vault to secure a second-place finish in the all-around with an overall score of 39.550. This is the fourth career weekly nod for the Fort Mill, South Carolina native.
Gymnast of the Week
Kylie Gorgenyi – New Hampshire
At the GW quint meet on February 16 Gorgenyi earned three podium finishes incuding her fifth all-around victory of the season with a score of 39.375. She currently ranks first in EAGL in AA with an average of 39.154. She also posted a career high 9.900 on vault to tie for first and placed third on bars with a 9.850 at GW’s meet. The graduate student ranks in the top five in EAGL on vault (fourth – 9.821 average), bars (third – 9.867 average) and floor (third – 9.858 average).
Specialist of the Week
Isabella Minervini – Towson
At GW’s quint meet on February 16 Minervini logged a career high 9.975 on bars for her fourth win on the event of the season. She received a perfect 10.0 from one judge for the first time in her collegiate career. The sophomore now holds second best score on the event in Towson history and ranks 12th in the NCAA with a 9.911 average .
Rookie of the Week
Retoshia Halsell – Towson
At GW’s quint meet Halsell matched her career high 9.850 on vault, marking her third time posting that score on the event this season. Her efforts helped Towson post a season high and third highest score in program history on vault. The freshman also posted Towson’s highest score of the night on floor as the anchor, logging a collegiate career high 9.875 for fourth place.
Co-Gymnasts of the Week
Lily McFarland – West Chester
McFarland went three for three to help the Golden Rams secure a win on Saturday. On vault she tied her career high of 9.75 and tied for first place with a beautiful Yurchenko tuck full. Her specialty is balance beam, and she did not disappoint! She scored a 9.825, which earned her another 1st place finish. She wrapped it up on with a beautiful floor exercise routine. Lily is a strong competitor and leader for the Golden Rams.
Skye Kerico – Penn
Sophomore Skye Kerico continues to be a staple in all four lineups for the Quakers. In a dual meet vs Temple, she earned her third straight AA title this season with a 39.15. Her impressive 39.175 average all-around score currently leads the conference. Skye’s contributions this weekend also helped lead the team to its highest home score ever of 195.075.
Specialist of the Week
Regina Walton – Cornell
A team captain and leader by example, Walton is one of the hardest workers and one of the Big Red’s most consistent performers each week. She has gone from being a three event competitor (V/UB/BB) to mostly a one event competitor, taking the lead off role for the beam lineup, setting the tone for everyone. This week she had an amazing routine – her best performance to date, setting a new school beam record of 9.925.
Newcomer of the Week
Gigi Mastellone – Southern Connecticut State
Mastellone had two impressive performances on the uneven bars in both meets this past weekend. Against Rhode Island and Springfield, she posted a score of 9.800 and came in first place, which helped the Owls get their first win of the season. The next day, against Yale and Bridgeport, Mastellone recorded a new career-best score of 9.850 and came in first place, which is the highest score posted for the Owls so far in the 2024 season.
Gymnast of the Week
Zoe Middleton – Ball State
Sophomore Zoe Middleton turned in a brilliant performance in Saturday’s dual at Western Michigan, capturing the all-around title (39.375) and tying for event wins on bars (9.825), beam (9.900) and floor (9.900). She also counted a 9.750 on vault to round out her impressive weekend of competition.
Specialist of the Week
Hallie Hornbacher – Central Michigan
Hallie Hornbacher brought the heat on the floor exercise once again for Central Michigan, tying her career-best score of 9.925 on the Chippewas’ home floor in their head-to-head win against Bowling Green. Hornbacher’s performance earned her a win in the event and ranks her fifth conference-wide in the floor exercise, with a 9.867 average score across seven performances.
Gymnast and Performance of the Week
Angelica Labat – Illinois State
For the fourth meet in a row, Labat picked up a win in the all-around in Illinois State’s victory over SEMO and Fisk. Labat finished at the top of the all-around competition with a score of 39.225, thanks to three top four individual event finishes. Her best performance of the night came on vault, as she tied her career high with a 9.950 to win the event and that score also tied for the highest score on the event this season in the MIC. Her performance on vault resulted in the Performance of the Week honor for Labat, her first in that category this season.
Newcomer of the Week
Reese Grolla – Illinois State
Grolla set a career-high on bars to win the event, as the Redbirds scored a season-high 195.975 last Friday night in Cape Girardeau. Grolla stepped up and helped the Redbirds finish 1-2 on the event with her personal-best score of 9.850 with Labat right behind in second place.
Coaches’ Choice Award
Julia Heiner – Illinois State
Heiner has been a consistent scorer for the Redbirds this season on bars and fought through adversity last weekend to help the Redbirds to a win. While working through her routine, she caught the low bar with her pointer finger tucked under and dislocated the finger. However, she continued and finished the routine, then walked over to the team’s athletic trainer and had her pull the finger back into alignment. That effort resulted in the leagues head coaches honoring her with her first award of the season.
Gymnast of the Week
Sarah Lutrel – Sacramento State
Lutrel (Citrus Heights, CA) recorded a career-best in the all-around, totaling 39.175 in a tri-meet against host Boise State and Southern Utah (Feb. 16). Lutrel opened the meet with a 9.825 on beam to tie her season-best. She followed with a 9.825 on floor and then scored a career-high tying 9.825 on vault, before ending her meet with a 9.700 on bars. Lutrel had the top score on the team on vault (tied for fifth overall) and beam (tied for fourth). This is the fifth career MPSF weekly award for Lutrel.
Specialist of the Week
Kayla Pardue – Southern Utah
Pardue (Golden, CO) tied the all-time MPSF and school record with a 9.95 on vault, taking first-place against Sacramento State and host Boise State (Feb. 16). A 9.95 on vault had been achieved just twice in MPSF history. The Thunderbirds’ vault team also compiled the eighth-best MPSF total in that event in conference history with 49.125. Pardue added 9.825 on floor. This is the first career MPSF award for Pardue.
Freshman of the Week
Jadynn Wakita – UC Davis
Wakita (Irvine, CA) had one of her best performances of her young collegiate career to help the Aggies win a tri-meet at Air Force (Feb. 16). Wakita scored her season-best on vault with a 9.700, and tied her career-best on uneven bars with a score of 9.875 to share second-place. This is the first career MPSF award for Wakita.
Gymnast of the Week
Lauren Macpherson – San Jose State
Freshman of the Week
Maggie Slife – Air Force
Vault – Emily Lopez, Boise State
Uneven Bars – Emily Lopez, Boise State
Balance Beam – Adriana Popp, Boise State
Floor Exercise – Courtney Blackson, Boise State
All-Around Gymnast of the Week
Olivia Keyes – Rhode Island College
Keyes finished first and tied a program record on floor (9.900), as well as establishing a new program record with a first place finish in the all-around (38.625). She took home first place finishes on bars (9.575), beam (9.700), floor (9.900) and in the all-around (38.625). Keyes finished tied for sixth on vault (9.450).
Specialist of the Week
Emily Kobusky – Ithaca
Kobusky earned a pair of first place finishes on beam last week. For the second time this season, she notched a score of 9.850 at Cortland on February 14 to match her school record. She then broke her school record on February 18 against Brockport as she tied for first with 9.875.
Gymnast of the Week
Jade Carey – Oregon State
Specialist of the Week
Anapaula Gutierrez – Stanford
Freshman/Newcomer of the Week
Sophia Esposito – Oregon State
Coaches’ Choice
Taralyn Nguyen – Stanford
Gymnast of the Week
Raena Worley – Kentucky
Worley, a fifth-year from Christiansburg, Va., won her 26th career all-around title with a score of 39.750 in the win over No. 28 BYU. Worley recorded her first perfect 10.0 on bars for her 13th win on the event. She also posted her 22nd career win on floor with a score of 9.975 in the anchor spot to help the Wildcats register their second-highest team score in the event (49.675). Worley concluded the meet with a second-place finish on vault with a 9.90 and tied for fourth place on beam with a 9.875.
Co-Specialists of the Week
Aleah Finnegan – LSU
Finnegan, a junior from Lee’s Summit, Mo., recorded a perfect 10.0 on floor in the win over No. 12 Auburn for her five career perfect mark and her third on the event. Finnegan also took the event title on vault with a score of 9.95 and tied for fourth place on the balance beam with a score of 9.925. She has now tallied 18 individual titles in her collegiate career, including six on floor and two on vault.
Mara Titarsolej – Missouri
Titarsolej, a senior from Zutphen, Netherlands, made history at the Mizzou to the Lou event after posting Missouri’s first perfect 10 on bars in program history. Titarsolej reset her own program record on the event, and she now holds the program’s top three bar scores after just seven meets as a Tiger. with her performance, Missouri set a program record team score on bars with a 49.500, besting the four-team field on the apparatus.
Freshman of the Week
Anya Pilgrim – Florida
Pilgrim, a freshman from Germantown, Md., earned a share of third place in the all-around at the Mizzou to the Lou quad meet with her score of 39.525. In her fifth outing this season in the all-around, Pilgram posted scores of 9.90 on the uneven bars, the balance beam and floor exercise. She also recorded a 9.825 on vault to help the Gators finish first against No. 14 Missouri, No. 27 Illinois and Lindenwood.
All-Around
Harriet Toth – UW-Eau Claire
Toth placed second in the all-around competition during a dual against UW-Oshkosh on Feb. 16, helping the Blugolds shatter the school record for team scoring. Toth tallied a 38.250 in the all-around – highlighted by a 9.775 on the floor – to help the Blugolds score a 189.575, setting a new team record. Toth placed third in the floor exercise and fifth on the vault. She scored a 9.400 or better in all four events.
Specialist
Caelen Lansing – UW-La Crosse
Lansing captured the floor exercise (9.875) in UW-La Crosse’s dual victory over Winona State University (Minn.) on Feb. 16. Her score of 9.875 is a career-high and is tied for second in school history.
