Zaraki KenpachiSoutheast Missouri women’s gymnastics is poised to host the 2024 USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate National Championships this weekend at the Show Me Center. SEMO will compete against Lindenwood, Texas Woman’s, Centenary and Air Force in the team finals on Saturday and the individual event finals Sunday. Saturday’s team finals start at 2 p.m., CT and Sunday commences at 1 p.m.
- 2024 USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate National Championships
Meet Information
Date: April 10-11, 2024
Time (Saturday): 2 p.m., CT Team Finals
Time (Sunday): 1 p.m., CT Individual Event Finals
Host: Southeast Missouri
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Venue: Show Me Center
Series: Lindenwood Leads All-Time Series with SEMO, 19-7, 4-2 in 2024;
SEMO Leads All-Time Series with TWU, 54-23; 2-1 in 2024;
SEMO leads All-Time Series with Centenary, 51-7, 3-0 in 2024;
SEMO leads All-Time Series with Air Force, 15-2
Coaches: Ashley Lawson (Third Season at SEMO);
Jen Llewellyn (Ninth Season at Lindenwood);
Lisa Bowerman (10th Season at Texas Woman’s);
Jackie Fain (10th Season at Centenary)
Jennifer Green (1st Season at Air Force)Scouting the Championships Field
SEMO will compete against Lindenwood, Texas Woman’s, Centenary and Air Force this weekend at the 2024 USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate National Championships.Lindenwood captured its sixth-straight Midwest Independent Championship on March 19 with a team-score of 195.575. Gayla Griswold and Aleah Leman won the floor title with 9.875s. Courtney Mitchell was second on vault (9.850) and beam (9.875). Kyndall Baze was named the MIC Woman of the Year and Aleah Turon was awarded the Sylvia Keiter Memorial Award.
Baze (9.775), Leman (9.800) and Mitchell (9.750) each competed on vault as individuals at the 2024 NCAA Regionals in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Lindenwood captured the 2019 National Championship in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Texas Woman’s was fourth at the 2024 MIC Championship on March 19 with a mark of 193.450. Madeline Gose, the MIC Newcomer of the Year, won the beam title (9.925) and was second on vault (9.850). Isabel Goyco finished as the runner-up on bars (9.875).
Goyco turned in a 9.850 competing on floor at the 2024 NCAA Athens Regional hosted by the University of Georgia.
Centenary took fifth at the 2024 MIC Championship, totaling 188.725. Kendall Sanders finished fourth in the all-around competition with 38.650 for All-MIC honors. Sierra Ponder was named the MIC Senior Athlete of the Year.
Air Force posted a season-high 193.900 team score on Senior Day on March 20, placing second behind San Jose State’s 194.475, in Cadet West Gym at USAF Academy, Colorado. The Falcons’ Daija Stevenson placed first in the all-around with a career-best 39.300. Stevenson and teammate Heidi Sand both won first place finishes for Air Force.
SEMO at the USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate National Championships
SEMO will compete as a team at the USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate National Championships for the first time in program history this weekend when the Redhawks host the event at the Show Me Center.SEMO has had a total of 11 individual qualifiers compete at the USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate National Championships in both 2018 and 2019. The Redhawks have had seven total individual student-athletes earn USAG All-American honors in school history.
Anna Kaziska was the runner-up on beam and floor at the 2019 Championships while Gabrielle Adams (vault) and Mackenzie Slee (vault) were also named USAG All-Americans.
In 2024, Kaziska (all-around, beam, floor) and Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso (all-around, bars) combined for five First-Team All-American honors as the Championships were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Slee was named a Senior All-Star.
Kaziska enters this weekend’s Championships as a seven-time USAG All-American.Seniors Alana Fischer and Adams will compete in their third career Championships this weekend.
Kaziska in Salt Lake City
Junior Anna Kaziska represented Southeast Missouri women’s gymnastics with a pair of stellar performances on floor and beam April 2 at the 2024 NCAA Salt Lake City Regional held at the Maverik Center.Kaziska, a Louisville, Kentucky, native registered a 9.900 on floor in the opening rotation of the first session of the second round of the 2024 NCAA Salt Lake City Regional. The mark finished tied for second in the session. Kaziska’s 9.900 on floor is her highest routine at a NCAA Regional, edging her 9.825 posted in 2019 at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional.
She also recorded a 9.875 on beam in the final rotation of the session. The mark tied for fifth in the first of two sessions Friday.
Lawson Named 2024 MIC Coach of the Year
Ashley Lawson was named the 2024 MIC Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the MIC Championships on March 19. For Lawson, it was her second-straight season earning the honor.In 2024, Lawson was also selected the 2024 Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association Region 4 Coach of the Year, USA Gymnastics Ken Anderson Coach of the Year in addition to MIC Head Coach of the Year.
2024 MIC Championships Recap
SEMO registered a team-score of 194.825 to take third at the 2024 MIC Championships March 19 at Redbird Arena on the campus of Illinois State. Eight Redhawks earned All-MIC honors for their performances at the Championships and head coach Ashley Lawson was named the 2024 MIC Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the meet.Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso paced the Redhawks with five All-MIC team honors on beam (first team), bars (second team), vault (second team), floor (first team) and in the all-around (first team). She finished as the runner-up in the all-around competition with 39.150. Molly Maxwell totaled 37.700 for fifth overall in the all-around for second-team All-MIC honors.
Jolie Miller (bars first team and beam second team), Michael Sanders (vault and floor second teams) and Anna Kaziska (vault second team and floor first team) were each named to two All-MIC teams. Alana Fischer (bars second team), Anna Speller (beam first team), Jordan Jones (floor second team) and Maxwell (all-around second team) also placed in the top-six for All-MIC honors.
Miller finished third overall at the meet with 9.825 on bars. Speller and Solorzano-Caruso tied for third overall at the Championships on beam with 9.825.
Ending the Regular Season on a High Note
SEMO tallied a season-best team score of 195.150 March 12 on Senior Night at Houck Field House for third in their tri meet with Illinois State and Lindenwood. The team-score ranks 10th all-time in SEMO program history and surpassed the previous season-high of 195.050 set on Feb. 26 against Centenary and ISU at the Show Me Center.For the second time in the last three regular-season competitions, SEMO posted marks of 49.000 plus on both of the final two home events. The Redhawks hit a 49.000 on beam, which tied for sixth in the record books. SEMO concluded the evening with a season-best 49.225 on floor, which tied for eighth in school history.
Anna Kaziska and Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso combined for three titles. The duo tied for first on floor with 9.900. Kaziska posted the top beam score of 9.900 (PR). Solorzano-Caruso finished second in the all-around competition with 39.075.
Peaking at the Right Time
SEMO has posted a team-score of 193 or higher in six competitions in 2024 and have posted 194 or higher in the last five meets.Anna Doing Anna Things
Anna Kaziska, the 2024 MIC Gymnast of the Year, notched a career-best 9.900 in the anchor position on beam on March 12. After posting her seventh 9.875 on Feb. 26, Kaziska cracked the balance beam record book standings. She now ranks tied for fifth all-time in program history on the event with 10 other SEMO gymnasts including Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso and Ashley Lawson.Kaziska also won the floor title on Feb. 28 with a career-best 9.925 in the final rotation of the dual with Centenary. Kaziska’s previous career-high on floor was a 9.900, which she had registered three times. The 9.925 earned on Feb. 28 puts Kaziska tied for seventh all-time in SEMO history for floor.
Prior to the 9.925 on Feb. 28, Kaziska had posted consecutive 9.875s on Feb. 22 at Lindenwood and on Feb. 26 in the tri with Centenary and ISU. She hasn’t recorded anything lower then a 9.800 on floor in 2024.
G on Vault
Senior Gabrielle Adams has notched a 9.700 or higher on vault in the past five SEMO meets. Adams posted a season-best 9.825 on Senior Night on March 12 against Illinois State and Lindenwood.She most recently registered a 9.725 on the event at the 2024 MIC Championships on March 19.
Adams hit a 9.700 on Feb. 22 at Lindenwood and added a 9.800 and 9.725 in the double-meet home weekend Feb. 26 and 28. She has notched six scores of 9.700 or higher in 2024 and has 26 in her career at SEMO.
First Career Event Title
Alana Fischer secured her first career event title with a 9.825 on beam in the third rotation on Feb. 28. After posting a personal-best 9.850 on beam Feb. 26, the senior from Georgetown, Ontario, Canada, won her first career title with a 9.825 on the discipline.Fischer has registered eight scores of 9.700 or higher in 2024 and 25 in her career as a Redhawk. She posted a 9.800 on beam on Senior Night on March 12 against Illinois State and Lindenwood. Fischer most recently had a 9.775 on bars for MIC Second-Team honors on March 19 at the 2024 MIC Championships.
Jones-ing for JoJo on Floor
Sophomore Jordan Jones has competed in the last five meets for the Redhawks on floor. She has not posted a mark lower then 9.725 and registered a career-best 9.875 on Senior Night on March 12 against Illinois State and Lindenwood.Jones most recently tallied a 9.725 on the event at the 2024 MIC Championships on March 19 for MIC Second-Team honors.
Mall Shopping Molly
Molly Maxwell secured All-MIC Second Team honors for the all-around at the 2024 MIC Championships on March 19. Competing in the all-around competition for the second time in 2024, Maxwell totaled 37.700 for fifth overall at the Championships behind a 9.700 beam routine.In the regular-season finale, Maxwell finished with 38.550 for third on Senior Night on March 12 against Illinois State and Lindenwood. She tallied a career-best 9.825 on floor and also added marks of 9.625 on bars and beam as well as 9.475 on vault.
Maxwell recorded a career-best 9.800 on beam for second at Feb. 28’s dual meet with Centenary. She also tallied her fifth career-high 9.750 floor mark at the dual.
Moffitt Coming on Strong
Lindsey Moffitt compiled career-bests on bars and floor at SEMO’s double-meet weekend on Feb. 26 and 28 at the Show Me Center. Moffitt posted a career-best 9.700 on bars for second overall at Feb. 28’s dual with Centenary. Two days prior, the sophomore from Ferris, Texas, hit her second career-high 9.825 on floor in the home tri meet.Moffitt finished the regular season with 9.700 on both bars and floor on Senior Night on March 12 against Illinois State and Lindenwood.
Speller is Stellar
Freshman Anna Speller has proven to be quite the beam specialist for the Redhawks. Speller, a freshman from St. Louis, Missouri, notched a career-best 9.875 for second on the event behind teammate Anna Kaziska on Senior Night on March 12 against Illinois State and Lindenwood.Speller has posted a 9.700 or higher on beam in six of this season’s competitions. She tallied consecutive 9.800s on Feb. 22 and Feb. 26.
Speller and teammate Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso tied for third overall at the MIC Championships with 9.825 on the event on March 19 for MIC First Team honors.
Bates Dropping Bars
Bars specialist Lindsey Bates had notched five scores of 9.700 or higher on the event in 2024. In the regular-season finale, Bates tallied a 9.750 on Senior Night on March 12 against Illinois State and Lindenwood.Bates registered her second career-high 9.825 on Feb. 12 at the GymQuarters Invitational.
She will return for her redshirt-senior season in 2024.
JOLIE, JOLIE, JOLIE, JOLIE
Bars and beam specialist Jolie Miller has compiled 10 scores of 9.700 or higher in 2024 (14 in her career). The sophomore from Aurora, Colorado, opened the season with back-to-back 9.800s on bars on Jan. 16 and 22.She has tallied a season-best of 9.825 on bars three times in 2024, most recently posting the feat at the 2024 MIC Championships on March 19. Miller enters the 2024 USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate National Championships with back-to-back 9.825 bars routines in the regular-season finale on Senior Night on March 12 against Illinois State and Lindenwood and at the 2024 MIC Championships.
Miller most recently finished third overall at the 2024 MIC Championships for MIC First Team honors. She also tallied MIC Second Team laurels on beam with a 9.725.
Miller notched a season-best beam score of 9.750 on Feb. 6 at Illinois State to win the event.
Be Like Michael
Michael Sanders leads the senior class with nine scores of 9.700 or higher in 2024 and has compiled 16 in her career as a Redhawk. She most recently posted a 9.775 on vault and a 9.700 on floor at the 2024 MIC Championships on March 19 for MIC Second Team honors on both events.In the regular-season finale, Sanders had a 9.700 on vault and a 9.725 on floor on Senior Night on March 12 against Illinois State and Lindenwood. Sanders season highs in 2024 include a career-best 9.775 on vault, achieved on Jan. 22 and March 19 as well as 9.500 on beam and 9.725 on floor.
Our All-Arounder
Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso has competed in the all-around competition in nine of the 10 competitions in 2024. Her season-high total is a 39.200, notched on Jan. 29 against Texas Woman’s. The sophomore from Courtice, Ontario, Canada, has posted a career-best vault of 9.850 twice in 2024. She also tied for first on Senior Night on March 12 against Illinois State and Lindenwood with a career-high floor routine of 9.900. Her 2024 season-bests also include a 9.775 (twice) on bars and a 9.825 on beam at the 2024 MIC Championships on March 19.Solorzano-Caruso most recently finished runner-up in the all-around at the 2024 MIC Championships. Solorzano-Caruso paced the Redhawks with five All-MIC team honors on beam (first team), bars (second team), vault (second team), floor (first team) and in the all-around (first team). She was third on beam with a mark of 9.825.
Hugh Hay
