Trinity Thomas claims NCAA all-around title ahead of Suni Lee, Jade Carey

It came down to the final routine with two titans of NCAA women's gymnastics - Trinity Thomas and Sunisa Lee - going nearly back-to-back to determine the all-around champion at the 2022 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships in Fort Worth, Texas.

Both delivered with Lee, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic all-around champion, going first and recording a 9.9125 on the uneven bars. Thomas, a former elite-level gymnast and U.S. national team member in her own right, was even better: recording her 11th perfect 10.0 mark of the 2022 season to seal the victory. Thomas totaled 39.8125 ahead of Lee's 39.675. Florida's Leanne Wong, the 2021 world all-around silver medallist, took third (39.6625).

"I feel absolutely amazing. I've been working for this ever since I got to school," Thomas said. "Just having a few set backs is OK. I kept fighting."

In the team event, it was Thomas' Florida (197.975) and Lee's Auburn (197.8375) squads advancing to Saturday's final. In the day's earlier session, University of Oklahoma and the University of Utah advanced to the finals with scores of 198.1125 and 197.7125, respectively.

Defending champions the University of Michigan, which entered the event as the third-ranked team nationally, did not advance after having to count a fall on both the uneven bars and balance beam.

"I'm really excited to be here again. Making it to the top eight, to me, is a really big win," said Oklahoma coach KJ Kindler. "It's very hard in our sport with the parity that exists across the board. So getting here that was tough, too."

The Sooners topped the standings with a 198.1125, ahead of Utah's 197.7125. The University of Minnesota (197.1125) and the University of Alabama (197.1000).

Kindler's squad comes into the competition as the top-ranked team, but the four-time NCAA champion coach says many in the sport have been focused on other teams as pre-event favourites.

"I'm really, really proud of the whole team and how they did today. I know we're… we're considered an underdog in this meet and we're OK with that position," said Kindler as she cleared her throat. "We're OK with that position. We know that the competition is tough and whoever comes out of this second session, I mean, it's... It's a fight. It's going to be a battle all the way down to the last event. Just really excited to be there again and to have this opportunity again."

The day's opening session featured two U.S. gymnasts who competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: Jade Carey, the floor exercise gold medallist, who qualified here as an individual competitor, and Utah's Grace McCallum, a member of the silver medal-winning U.S. squad. Carey earned a 39.650 total, which was good for fourth overall. Amelie Morgan, who was part of Team GB's bronze medal squad, is also on the Utah roster.

Olympic team silver medallist Jordan Chiles qualified to compete on the uneven bars and floor exercise. She delivered a stellar performance on floor - executing a full-twisting double layout in her opening pass for a 9.925.

In the individual event competitions, Utah's Jaedyn Rucker was the vault champion, while Thomas claimed bars and floor. Lee took the top spot on the balance beam.

2022 Women’s NCAA Gymnastics Championships: Schedule, how to watch

All times local to the event (CDT)

Thursday, 14 April
17:00 – National semi-final II: Florida, Missouri, Auburn, Michigan

Saturday, 16 April
12:00 – National finals

Fans in the United States can watch Thursday’s competitions on ESPN2, while the finals will air live on ABC.