“Physically, yes, I think my body is in a really good spot right now.” These words must have definitely felt like a melody to the fans. You would ask why. Just imagine a dominant gymnast returning back for an extended senior year to outshine her previous spectacular performance but not being able to perform. An injury strikes at the season opener and the struggle begins. This is what happened with Haleigh Bryant after she received a UCL injury in her elbow during December 16 on in the Tigers’ Gymnastics 101 exhibition. But, what next?

Haleigh Bryant struggled to return. Also, coach Jay Clark reduced her workload to make sure her recovery was quick yet complete. At max, she would perform in one or two apparatuses. It took time but eventually, the much-awaited day came and she unleashed her full potential against Kentucky on February 21. But it was her performance against Washington that made her fans feel that the ‘Old Haleigh was back!’ So was it just the recovery? Not quite so. Turns out Coach Jay had something to do with it. And now we know what it was!

Haleigh Bryant spoke to LSU Tiger TV on March 1 after her spectacular all-round performance against George Washington on February 28. The 2024 NCAA All-around Champion said, “I really just wanted to come out here and have a good all-around performance and just be consistent through all the events.” And she did have an amazing performance, after all, she scored a whopping 39.725 to claim the All-Around title.

The 23-year-old further shared how her coach asked her to just focus on consistency and trust her own abilities. The All-around specialist said, “……just have it really consistent is what me and Jay really talked about.” And she didn’t disappoint the coach. She started with a solid 9.950 on vault, followed by a 9.925 on bars, beams, and floor.

Dwelling into the beginning of the season, Haleigh Bryant said, “Just kind of getting more confident in my gymnastics because obviously, I had a weird beginning of the season, just kind of, with my elbows.” Definitely, she did not have the season beginning that she, our coach, the team or the fan anticipated. The all-around Champion was not even competing in all the events in the first 7 meets. Jay helped her settle her nerves and reminded her how good she was.

Haleigh said how that little reminder just worked like the perfect antidote: “I haven’t had all the numbers that I would like to have, but he really just reminded me to trust my gymnastics because that’s enough and I’ve done these skills for however many years now. So, I just felt really good back out there.” And no doubt his words did their magic!

Haleigh Bryant is back in her element, and with the season is drawing close, LSU looks like a champion again.

Washington meet was a statement from the NCAA defending champs

Olivia Dunne is still out, and LSU barely edged out Kentucky by 0.125 on February 21st. Naturally, there were concerns about LSU’s Podium Challenge against George Washington. With 196.550, Washington had the highest score among all the teams in the EAGL conference. Moreover, they were unbeaten this season. So, there are questions about which way this would go. Well, a tweak from Jay Clark and the Haleigh Bryant-anchored LSU team completely overwhelmed George Washington.

But the 2024 SEC Gymnast of the Year did not do it all alone. Haleigh Bryant topped the vault with a solid 9.950. Bars saw the dominance of Kailin Chio and Konnor McClain who tied with Haleigh’s vault score. For the third rotation, in the beams again Kailin Chio topped the charts with 9.950. It seems 9.950s were raining that night! Even Sierra Ballard swept the floor with a soild 9.950. Thus, LSU took all the event titles on the night with their dominant or should we say 9.950 performance, beating Washington 198.125-195.475.

This win takes the defending NCAA Champion’s win streak to 5. Currently, with a 9-2 win, LSU is preparing for the last home meet of the season on March 7th against Georgia. It will probably be the last home meet for Haleigh and we honestly can’t wait to see the queen slay again!