Mountaineers Finish Second at Kent State Tri Meet

Sunday, January 18

Kent, Ohio

1 p.m.

West Virginia University

192.025

194.925

Kent State

January 18, 2026 04:22 PM | Gymnastics

Results

By: Olivia Sneed

KENT, Ohio – The West Virginia University gymnastics team posted a final team score of 192.025 to finish in second place in a tri meet at Kent State with Fisk inside the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center in Kent, Ohio, on Sunday afternoon.

Kent State finished in first place with a team score of 194.925, followed by the Mountaineers in second place. Fisk rounded out the competition in third with a 188.975.

WVU opened the meet on the uneven bars, posting an opening-rotation team score of 48.425. Junior Amber Lowe paced the lineup with a 9.775. She was followed by a trio of 9.675's from classmate Jayden McDonnell, sophomore Kaelyn Skeel and freshman Haley Mendoza. Freshman Kayla Smith rounded out the scoring with a 9.625.

For the second week in a row, balance beam got the better of the Mountaineers and they were forced to count three falls with a 46.55 event score. The rotation started out strong, with Kayla Smith scoring a 9.75 and Lowe adding a 9.725. From there, senior Carlee Nelson tallied a 9.15, junior Kaylei Adams scored a 9.275 and sophomore Karleigh DiCello added an 8.65 to wrap up a tough rotation.

Moving to floor exercise, West Virginia tride to get back some momentum with a 48.275 team score. Sophomore Sophia Rice paced the lineup with a beautiful routine that scored a 9.725, while classmate Emerson Smith was just behind her with a 9.7. Kayla Smith recorded a 9.675, followed by Nelson with a 9.65 and Lowe with a 9.525.

Vault was once again WVU's best event in the meet, as it recorded a 48.775 to lead all other events. Rice continued to lead the way with a 9.8, while Kayla Smith posted a 9.775. Sophomore Taylor Tuohy secured a 9.75, and a pair of 9.725's from Nelson and DiCello capped the meet for the Mountaineers.

On all-around, Kayla Smith reached a new career high with a 38.825 total on all four events. Her score put her in first place in the final event standings, marking her first career event win. Elsewhere, Lowe tallied a second-place finish on bars to earn her first podium finish of the season.

West Virginia now looks ahead to opening its home slate at Hope Coliseum in Morgantown on Saturday, Feb. 24. The Mountaineers will welcome Big 12 Conference foe Denver for the much-anticipated Beauty and the Beast meet with the WVU wrestling team. Competition is slated for 6 p.m. ET, with the Mountaineer Fan Fest taking place on the concourse prior to the meet from 5-6 p.m.

For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUGymnastics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.