Mountaineers Post Season High to Win Quad Meet

Friday, January 30

Morgantown, W.Va.

7 p.m.

West Virginia University

195.875

194.775

Pitt

January 30, 2026 11:34 PM | Gymnastics

Results

By: Olivia Sneed

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Behind a pair of 49.0+ event scores, the West Virginia University gymnastics team posted a season-high 195.875 team score to earn a quad meet victory over Pitt, Kent State and Cornell on Friday night inside Hope Coliseum in Morgantown.

The Mountaineers used their first 195.0+ score of the season to tally three important wins in the meet, which marked their first outright quad meet win since 2023. In the final team standings, Kent State finished in second with a 195.1, Pitt placed third with a 194.775 and Cornell took fourth place with a 193.275. Of note, the victories marked the first over Pitt since 2023 and the first over Kent State since 2024, while West Virginia remains undefeated all-time against Cornell.

Competing in Olympic order for the second meet in a row, WVU opened strong on vault with a 48.775. Sophomore Karleigh DiCello once again led the rotation with a season-high matching 9.875 for the second week in a row. Classmate Emerson Smith also matched her career high and reached a new season high with a 9.825. Freshman Kayla Smith and senior Carlee Nelson added matching 9.7's and sophomore Sophia Rice scored a 9.675.

Moving to uneven bars, West Virginia kept up its momentum and scored a season-high 48.875 behind a trio of season-best scores throughout the lineup. Kayla Smith and sophomore Jurnee Lane led the rotation with a pair of 9.8's, which marked a season high for Lane and a career high for Smith. Freshman Haley Mendoza also reached a new career best with a 9.775, while sophomore Kaelyn Skeel and junior Amber Lowe added matching 9.75's.

The Mountaineers then went to beam, where they had struggled in previous meets, and hit six-of-six routines for the first time this season to score a season-high 49.025. Lowe paced the squad with a season-best 9.85, which also matched her career best. DiCello and junior Kaylei Adams added a pair of 9.825's, which was the first hit routine for DiCello on beam this season. Lane added a 9.775 and Mendoza scored a 9.75 to help West Virginia redeem itself on the event that has gotten the better of the squad so far this season.

Finishing up on floor, West Virginia put together another season-high team score with a 49.2, led by a huge career-high 9.9 from Kayla Smith. Lane matched her season best with a 9.875, and Emerson Smith scored a 9.825. Lowe and Nelson added two 9.8's to cap the scoring in a season-best performance for the Mountaineers.

On all-around, Kayla Smith put together an impressive performance on all four events, scoring a career-high 39.125 for her first 39.0+ all-around score and a win on the event. DiCello topped the podium for the second straight week on vault, while Emerson Smith tied for second. Kayla Smith topped the floor podium, and Lane followed in a tie for second.

Next up, West Virginia heads back on the road for a Big 12 Conference dual meet at Iowa State on Friday, Feb. 6. Competition at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa, is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

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