Six Gymbacks Named All-SEC, Ties Program Record for Most in a Season
Coming off a record conference championship performance last week, six Gymbacks have been named All-SEC, the league office announced on Wednesday.
Maddie Jones, Hailey Klein, Frankie Price, Leah Smith, Cami Weaver and Lauren Williams all received all-conference nods after they earned one of the top two scores (including ties) on their respective events in the afternoon session of Saturday’s SEC Championships in New Orleans. Six ties the program record for Gymbacks on the All-SEC list in a single season, and is the most in head coach Jordyn Wieber’s five-year tenure.
Jones is a first-time All-SEC honoree and earned the title after she posted a 9.900 on floor at the conference championship, tied for the highest score of the afternoon session and tied for seventh overall. 11 Gymbacks including Jones have scored a 9.900 at SECs in program history, the last Norah Flatley and Lauren Williams in 2023.
Price and Smith were also rewarded for their stellar performances on floor with matching marks of 9.875, second-best of the session and tied for 17th across both. It’s the second time Price has received all-conference honors, as she was named All-SEC and All-Freshman on vault in 2023. Smith is a first-time All-SEC honoree, but did receive All-Freshman designation in her 2022 rookie season on bars.
Prior to Saturday, only one Gymback had ever scored a program-high 9.925 on beam at SEC Championships, but both Klein and Weaver matched the six-year-old record in New Orleans. The score was the second-highest of the session and both ended up tying for eighth overall for Arkansas’ second and third top 10 finishes on the day. Klein is Arkansas’ second true freshman in two seasons to be named All-SEC, and the first to receive the honor on beam since Hailey Garner in 2018, who also originally set the 9.925 SECs record. Weaver is now a two-time All-SEC Gymback, having earned the nod on vault in 2023.
Williams rounds out Arkansas’ all-conference haul on vault, which she earned with a score of 9.850, second-best in the afternoon session and tied for 13th overall. The Rogers native now has a total of three All-SEC honors in her two seasons, with back-to-back nods on vault and another on floor in 2023. Williams is the first Gymback to receive multiple all-conference honors on vault since 2018, and the first to earn it in consecutive years since Sophia Carter did so on floor in 2020 and 2021.
The Gymbacks scored a 197.050 at SEC Championships, which put them in sixth place overall and is a new program high score at SECs, the first-ever over 197. It was Arkansas’ eighth score above 197 all season, far past the previous single season high of five. The Hogs also posted new SECs records on bars (49.250) and beam (49.450).
Up Next
The Gymbacks continue postseason at home with the NCAA Fayetteville Regional April 3-6 at Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas has been seeded 10th and opens regional competition with No. 7 Kentucky, Arizona and Nebraska in the first semifinal of the day on Thursday, April 4 at 1 p.m. The top two teams will advance to face the top two teams of the evening semi (No. 2 LSU, No. 15 Minnesota, Oregon State, Boise State/BYU) in the regional final on Saturday, April 6 at 5 p.m. All-session and single session regional tickets are now available.
More Information
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