Nationals Up Next for Gymback Duo
A pair of Razorbacks will represent Arkansas gymnastics on the big stage on Thursday as senior Maddie Jones and freshman Joscelyn Roberson are set to compete at NCAA Championships as individual qualifiers.
Roberson is one of four individual all-around qualifiers in the nationals field, the lone freshman of the group. She is joined in the quartet by fellow Team USA competitor Jade Carey, who will also be featured in the evening semifinal session. Roberson is Arkansas’ first freshman all-around qualifier since 2017 and seventh ever.
Joscelyn’s rookie campaign so far has been nothing short of remarkable. She’s set and broken the Arkansas freshman all-around record three times, including a new high of 39.625 in her most recent outing at the University Park regional final. She’s earned 12 event or all-around titles through 13 meets, has claimed all-around victories in five of 10 appearances and checks in at No. 25 nationally all-around.
Heading into nationals, Roberson holds an NQS of 9.900+ on two events, beam (9.915) and floor (9.925), which place her among the top 25 nationally in both. She was named a regular season All-American on beam last month as well as All-SEC on the event. She has 10 scores of 9.900+ on beam this season, including five straight dating back to Feb. 28, and six straight 9.900+ on floor since Feb. 21.
While Roberson is set for her first nationals appearance on Thursday, it’ll be the last meet of Maddie Jones’ illustrious Arkansas career as she caps it off with one final bars routine. She’s been a mainstay of the Gymback bars lineup since her freshman year and has maintained that consistency as a senior. Jones scored back-to-back 9.950s at both days of regionals and was named the University Park co-champion on bars, Arkansas’ first-ever regional title on the event.
Maddie takes an NQS of 9.905 into nationals, placing her No. 25 in the country and second among the event’s four individual qualifiers. Dating back to her freshman season, Jones has scored 9.900 or above in nearly 40 percent of all bars routines. She’s racked up 9.900+ in seven bars sets this season, a new personal single season high.
Roberson and Jones will look to extend an All-American streak by Arkansas, with 10 accolades being earned by the program since 2021. Joscelyn would be the first Arkansas freshman to get NCAA All-American honors since 2012 if she places within the top eight in the session on any event or all-around in Fort Worth. Jones would be the third Gymback in five seasons to do so on bars, as Maggie O’Hara and Reese Drotar received the honor in 2021 and 2024, respectively.
All-Americans and individual awards will be given based on the results from individual qualifiers and team competitors from both semifinal sessions on Thursday, April 17. Both Roberson and Jones will compete in the evening semifinal session on Thursday, April 17 at 8 p.m. Roberson will rotate with Utah, starting on beam, and Jones will compete in the second rotation with Michigan State. The action will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and live stats will be provided by Virtius.
Numbers to Know: All-Around Qualifiers
Arkansas: Joscelyn Roberson (Qualifying Score | NQS | Season High)
- AA: 39.600 | 39.450 | 39.625
Oregon State: Jade Carey
- AA: 39.850 | 39.775 | 39.925
Washington: Mary McDonough
- AA: 39.425 | 39.180 | 39.450
Denver: Madison Ulrich
- AA: 39.575 | 39.410 | 39.575
Bars Qualifiers
Arkansas: Maddie Jones (Qualifying Score | NQS | Season High)
- UB: 9.950 | 9.905 | 9.950
Auburn: Olivia Greaves
- UB: 9.950 | 9.880 | 9.975
Denver: Rylie Mundell
- UB: 9.900 | 9.900 | 9.950
Cal: Madelyn Williams
- UB: 9.950 | 9.945 | 9.950
More Information
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