Jay Clark had 'so many emotions' after LSU's first national championship
LSU Gymnastics did something on Saturday that they hadn't been able to accomplish in nearly 50 years of the program's existence: win a national championship.
Until this weekend, the Tigers had always been considered one of the best programs to never win a national title. They had won multiple SEC titles and had made it to the championships in 10 of the last 17 years, which included four second-place finishes, but were never able to get over the hump.
In 2023, it looked like it might finally be the Tigers year. They returned many all-world gymnasts such as Haleigh Bryant and Kiya Johnson, but injuries plagued the Tigers, who still made it to the national championship where they placed fourth.
Coming into 2024, the Tigers once again returned many of their stars while adding all-star freshmen such as Konnor McClain and Amari Drayton to the mix. There was hope that, if they stayed healthy, this team could finally get over the hump.
By the time they got to Fort Worth with all their gymnasts healthy and with Oklahoma suffering a shocking defeat in the semifinals, there was a clear path for the Tigers to win their first national championship.
Heading into the final rotation of the night, LSU faced a slight deficit to Utah. The Tigers went to the balance beam, which is notoriously the hardest and most nerve wracking event, while the Utes moved to vault.
After Sierra Ballard led off with a 9.9500, Savannah Schoenherr suffered a fall which resulted in a 9.3875, a score that needed to be dropped for a chance to win the title. Luckily for them, the rest of the beam squad was cold blooded. Konnor McClain, Haleigh Bryant and Kiya Johnson all posted scores of 9.9500 or better, leaving Aleah Finnegan as the one that would make or break the Tigers title hopes. When she stepped on beam, she needed just a 9.6750 to secure the title, meaning as long as she didn't fall, it was LSU's to win.
"It was gut wrenching," said LSU Head Coach Jay Clark. "When I watched [Savannah Schoenherr] have that little thing happen, I knew it was going to come down to the wire. Then, when [Aleah Finnegan] got up there, I knew we were going to be in a good spot. Once the others had done their job, I knew we were going to be in a good spot because I knew she was built for that moment. I was just extremely confident that once she got up there she was going to knock it out of the park."
And she did indeed knock it out of the park. Finnegan not only did enough for the Tigers to win, she tied her season-high beam score with a 9.9500. With the weight of the world on her shoulders, she absolutely delivered, and that's why she's going to be representing her home country of the Philippines in this year's Olympic Games.
Once she stepped off that beam, all the emotions came flooding out. They had done something nobody in the history of this storied program had been able to do: They had brought the elusive national championship to Baton Rouge.
"It's not often that I don't know what to say," said Jay Clark. "Just so many emotions for so many reasons. This team is full of individuals that have incredible character, integrity and love for each other, all the things you hear coaches say at a podium like this after a victory, but I promise you it's a real thing...What moved my emotions at the end was seeing [the team] experience that feeling of getting over the hump and being able to exhale as the scores came in."
One of the many Tiger fans that were in attendance for the championship meet was former LSU Gymnastics Head Coach, D-D Breaux. She poured 43 years of her life into this program and was the one who brought Jay Clark to Baton Rouge after his time in Athens came to an end.
Unfortunately, Breaux was never able to bring the trophy home, but Clark made sure that she knew this was her national championship too.
"It means a lot. [D-D Breaux] gave me an opportunity when I needed one. She worked for 35 years on building this program before I got here and treated me like a partner instead of an assistant once I came on board...She's a big part of this program. The facility we have, the 43 years she put in here, the battles that she fought, whether it was Title IX or anything else. I just felt it was important that when this program won their first national title that it be hers as well."
This group of young women is special. Not only did they bring the first national championship to LSU, but they've pulled so many eyes to the sport in recent years.
In 2024, LSU once again led the country in attendance with an average of 12,590, which was the highest the school has ever seen and is the seventh consecutive year they've averaged over 10,000. This year's national championship also averaged 922,000 viewers and peaked at over 1.1-million, which made it the most watched gymnastics broadcast of all-time. And on top of that, LSU Gymnastics social medias totaled 3.38 million engagements, which was two million more than the next closest (Florida, 1.38 million).
Like it is for many other sports, Baton Rouge is the place to be for college gymnastics. This national title is just the beginning of what's to come for Jay Clark's group.
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