GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
LSU defending national champion gymnastics coach Jay Clark might as well be on the balance beam himself.
His No. 2-ranked Tigers (8-2, 5-1 SEC) won their fourth straight on Friday at No. 9 Kentucky after knocking off No. 1 Oklahoma the previous week at home, and they remain in line for their first Southeastern Conference regular season crown since 2018. Freshman sensation Kailin Chio won her fourth straight All-Around title at Kentucky – all against SEC competition – and won her fourth consecutive SEC Freshman of the Week on Tuesday.
But now, the season takes on a bit of a lull as the the Tigers meet No. 35 George Washington in the Podium Challenge at the River Center on Friday at 6:30 p.m. Then its back to the grind against No. 9 Georgia (4-5, 2-3) at home on March 7 before the regular season finale at No. 11 Auburn (9-3-1, 2-2-1) on March 14. (Kentucky dropped to No. 10 in the latest rankings.)
The SEC Championships follow on March 22 in Birmingham, Alabama, the NCAA Regionals on April 2-6 (TBA) and the NCAA Championships on April 17-19 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Clark is trying to keep his team healthy and primed, but with the goal to be the best and healthiest at the end.
“We’re walking a tightrope with the health of this team, and we still have to be judicious and make decisions that are in their best interest,” Clark said Monday. “So, I’m not going into this meet (Friday) just absolutely throwing caution to the wind and trying to go get a big score. Because we’re competing for things much bigger as we go forward.”
Senior KJ Johnson just reaggravated an ankle injury she had been dealing with on the vault at Kentucky. Senior Alyona Shchennikova may get a chance to compete on Friday after various injuries this season and missing all of last season with an Achilles injury. Freshman Kaliya Lincoln continues to nurse a shoulder injury.
Clark is considering resting Aleah Finnegan this week. Senior Haleigh Bryant is regaining her form after an elbow injury last December. She competed in the All-Around at Kentucky for the first time since the injury and finished second to Chio.
“I just came out of a meeting,” Clark said. “We’re looking at making sure that we try to make decisions intentionally with regard to who’s out there and how many reps we really have left. We still got what nine weeks left of this, and we need to make sure. This may be the one opportunity we have where we have some flexibility, and we may need to look at using some of it.”
He and his staff are dealing with quite a few variables.
“I’m not predicting anything, but it’s not a secret that we’ve got people who are hurting and ailing and trying to come back and improve from a health perspective,” Clark said. “And to try and make sure that we at least spend time talking about various scenarios. That’s really what I’m challenging our staff to do right now.”
Pushing a gymnast now could be more risk than reward.
“Let’s not be unduly reckless in some ways,” Clark said. “Make sure that Kaliya’s shoulder is staying where it needs to be. Make sure that we make the right decisions. We get past this meet and two more, and then it’s SECs. And then you’re still a solid month before you’re finished for the season, if things go well. We’ve just got to be big-picture oriented, and it might be a chance for us to get one or two people an opportunity that they haven’t gotten.”
Still, the best for Bryant may not be sitting out.
“Haleigh has one meet under her belt in the all-around,” Clark said. “It’s probably in her best interest to keep her moving because she kind of needs to knock the rust off. She just needs to relax and get back in her rhythm. Probably not going to move her around.”
Clark knows Finnegan needs a break.
“I would’ve loved over the last several weeks to have found a spot to rest Aleah, more mentally than anything,” Clark said. “But we may not have that option, because physically she’s in one of the better places of all of them. She feels pretty good.”
So far, so good on the balance beam for Clark.
“Friday night was our best road performance to date,” he said of the 197.200 to 197.075 win at Kentucky, where LSU had not won since 2017. “The score didn’t indicate that. It was a success with regard to the things that we can control. Doesn’t mean we were perfect, because we were bouncing around on vault a little bit. Not terribly sharp over there and in some spots in other places, too. But top to bottom collectively, it was our best performance on the road so far.”
A second national championship is too far away to think about too much yet, and the last one needs to stay in the rearview mirror.
“We hadn’t talked about that since the first or second week when that banner went up,” Clark said. “Last year’s last year, and this year’s this year. It’s a completely different path. Totally different journey with its own twists and turns. I don’t think that’s in their mind at all, and it’s not part of our equation. That was a great accomplishment for last year’s team and this program. But we’re focused solely on this year’s team and what we’re trying to accomplish for this year’s team and its members and the program.”
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