Gymnastics Jumps One Spot To No. 13 In Road To Nationals Rankings

COLUMBIA, Mo. — The University of Missouri gymnastics team jumped a spot in the Road To Nationals rankings to No. 13 this week. The Tigers are ranked among the top 15 in the country on three events.

At Friday’s Mizzou to the Lou quad meet, head coach Shannon Welker led his squad to the team’s best score of 2024 so far with a 197.475. The score also tied for the fifth-best score in program history as the team posted bar and floor scores that ranked among the top 10 all-time.

For the seventh consecutive week, Missouri’s floor score sits among the top 10 in the country, clocking in at No. 7 with a 49.482 average. The Tigers notched a fourth consecutive floor score above 49.5, tying the ninth-best mark in program history with a 49.525 for a second straight week. A quartet of Tigers — Sienna Schreiber, Amari Celestine, Kennedy Griffin and Jocelyn Moore — hit 9.9 routines, as Celestine tied Florida’s Leanne Wong for the event title with a 9.950.

The Tigers held steady on vault at No. 11 with a 49.264 average. Missouri scored a 49.200 on the event, with Celestine leading the way with a 9.900 and Hannah Horton adding a 9.875. The ranking is the highest the Tigers have sat through seven weeks since 2017.

Missouri continued to gain ground in the bar rankings for a sixth consecutive week, checking in at No. 13 in the country. Led by the first perfect 10 on bars in program history from Mara Titarsolej, the Tigers registered a program-record 49.500 on bars on Friday. Kyra Burns led off with a career-best 9.900 while Schreiber and Moore each added 9.900 routines to complement.

The Tigers maintained their position at No. 22 on beam following a 49.250 outing. Schreiber led the team with a 9.900, while Celestine produced a 9.875 in the leadoff position and Amaya Marshall matched that score for her highest mark of the season on that apparatus.

Four Tigers sit among the top 25 in the country as individuals. Moore continued her strong season on floor and is tied for No. 7 in the country in the event with a 9.936 average. She has been ranked among the top 15 in the country throughout the entire season.

Thanks to her perfect 10, Titarsolej jumped 10 spots to tie for the No. 8 spot in the country with a 9.914 average. The LIU transfer has owned the month of February with three consecutive scores of 9.925 or higher.

Horton and Celestine are each ranked on vault, with Horton tying for 16th (9.879) and Celestine tying for 18th (9.875). The freshman Horton has hit a 9.875 or higher in six of seven vaults this year while Celestine has scored a 9.850 or higher on all seven vaults.

UP NEXT

The Tigers compete in their final SEC road meet next weekend, traveling down to The Plains to face No. 12 Auburn next Friday, Feb. 23. First touch from Neville Arena is slated for 6 p.m. CT, and the contest will broadcast on Friday Night Heights on SEC Network.

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