Two LSU gymnastics recruits selected to compete in Pan American games for U.S. squad
This past week, three gymnastics prospects from LSU participated in the global championships team selection camp held by USA Gymnastics in Katy, Texas. Of the three, two were selected to compete for the United States in the Pan American Games.
In addition to Kaliya Lincoln and Zoe Miller, Jordan Chiles, Kayla DiCello, and Tiana Sumanasekera round out the five women who have been chosen to represent the United States in the Pan American Games.
The Pan American Games will take place in Santiago, Chile from the 20th of October to the 5th of November.
In addition, DiCello was selected as an alternate for the United States team that will compete in the global Artistic Championships. Among the athletes on that squad will be Simone Biles, who will be participating in her sixth global championships, Skye Blakely, Shilese Jones, Joscelyn Roberson, and Leanne Wong.
Aleah Finnegan, a junior at LSU, will leave on Monday to compete in the global championships, for which her home country of the Philippines has qualified her. The gathering will take place in Antwerp, Belgium, from September 30 to October 8 of this year.
Lincoln and Miller, who are expected to enroll at LSU in 2024 and begin competing in 2025, put in some impressive performances during the two-day camp held outside of Houston. Both are scheduled to begin their collegiate careers in 2025.
Floor exercise was Lincoln’s weakest event, as she scored 13.85, placing her in a tie for second place behind Biles’s score of 14.3. Additionally, she placed in a tie for fourth place on the balance beam (13.8), and she came in sixth place overall (53.4).
Miller finished in tenth place overall with a score of 53.4 and took first place in the competition on the uneven bars with a score of 14.5. Lexi Zeiss, a third potential LSU student-athlete for the class of 2024, tied for fifth place on bars with a score of 13.65.
A crucial step in the process of attempting to earn a spot on the United States Olympic team that will go to Paris in 2024 is to compete at a major international competition, such as the world championship or the Pan American Games.
Another gymnast competing for LSU, the freshman Konnor McClain, has not given up on her dream of competing for the United States of America in the Olympic Games following the conclusion of the 2024 academic season. McClain, who had just entered in the program in August, went on to win the all-around title at the 2022 United States Championships.
The annual Gymnastics 101 display that LSU puts on will take place on December 16 this year. The Tigers will play Ohio State in their first game of the 2024 season, which will take place on January 5 at home.
