ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Lindenwood gymnastics (7-2) host their third meet of the season on Sunday as the take on Midwest Independent Conference opponent Illinois State in Hyland Arena. The Lions will honor their seniors on Sunday as well.

Last Meet Recap
Lindenwood gymnastics picked up two wins on Sunday after defeating Simpson College and Centenary College by scores of 194.825-186.075 and 194.825-187.950. The Lions had the highest individual score in all four events including two first-place finishes by Gayla Griswold.

Griswold had herself another great meet on Sunday after posting two first-place finishes against Simpson and Centenary. During her floor routine, she had a high score of 9.925 continuing her streak of four straight meets posting the highest floor score. She also started the meet with a 9.850 on vault.

Hannah Appleget was the all-around high scorer on Sunday with a AA score of 39.075 which marks her season high. Appleget also managed to set her all-time high score of 9.900 on the bars. She finished t-8 on bars (9.625), second on beam (9.725) and fourth on floor (9.825).

Hannah Moon also captured a first place finish on beam with a score of 9.750. This marked her second individual win in that event. Moon also scored a 9.700 on bars for Lindenwood on Sunday. Madison Rush also finished in seventh on beam with a score of 9.550.

Jaly Jones ranked just behind Appleget in the all-around score posting the second highest of the afternoon with a score of 38.950. Jones had a high score of 9.850 during her floor routine which ranked second by Griswold. She also finished with a 9.675 on vault, 9825 on bars and a 9.600 on beams.

Lindenwood's highest team score today was a tie between their bar scores and their floor routines which both scored a 49.250. Lindenwood's vault score for their team was a 48.550 while their beam score was a 47.775.

Head Coach: Catelyn Branson
Catelyn Branson was named the gymnastics head coach in July of 2021, and will enter her third season with Lindenwood in 2023-24.  Orel is just the third head coach in program history.

The Lindenwood gymnastics team saw continued success in 2023, earning the top-seed at the MIC Championships, finishing in second place. Lindenwood took home the USAG National Championship for the first time since 2019. 

In her first season, the Lindenwood gymnastics team had yet another successful campaign, earning third at USAG nationals and advancing a student-athlete to NCAA nationals. Griswold became the first Lion in program history to qualify for the national event, as the junior capped her season on the vault in Fort Worth, Texas.

Branson comes to Lindenwood after serving two seasons on the staff at the University of Arkansas. She competed as a student-athlete at the University of Nebraska from 2015-19.  As a member of the Nebraska gymnastics program, Branson was named academic all-Big Ten twice, and earned scholar-athlete honor roll four times. 

Up Next
Lindenwood will stay in St. Charles on Friday, Feb. 16 as they take part in the GQ Meet at Family Arena. The Lions will take on Illinois, Missouri and Florida in a showdown starting at 6:00 p.m. and streaming on SEC Network. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.