Cats finish sixth overall, Wilson, Magnelli and Worley earn individual awards
FORT WORTH –
Kentucky gymnastics closed its historic run in the Elite 8 on Thursday at the 2023 NCAA National Championships. The Wildcats finished the semifinal meet with an overall meet score of 197.1250 placing fourth in Session II and sixth out of eight total teams.
Makenzie Wilson, Isabella Magnelli and Raena Worley placed individually in the top 10 overall earning trophies for their accomplishments on vault, beam and all-around.
The Cats punched its ticket to the Championships for the second time in program history after advancing out of the Norman, Okla. Regional earlier this month. Kentucky made its first appearance at the Championships in 2018.
Competing in Olympic order, the Wildcats started the semifinal contest on vault. UK recorded a collective 49.3125 on the apparatus with Wilson earning the top score in the lineup with a 9.9125. Her top mark placed her fourth overall out of both sessions. Fifth-year senior Arianna Patterson also executed an impressive vault earning a 9.8750 with Magnelli following suit with a 9.8625.
On the uneven bars, the Wildcats recorded a 49.1250. Worley, the anchor of the lineup, held the highest score for UK with a 9.9250. She was preceded by Shealyn Luksik’s 9.8250 and Bailey Bunn and Jillian Procasky’s 9.800. The rotation was the lowest-scoring event of the meet for Kentucky.
The highest-scoring apparatus of the day for the Cats was the balance beam which scored a 49.4125. The Kentucky Beam Queens were impressive on the rotation with solid routines. Magnelli held the highest score for the Cats with a 9.9500. The high score earned the junior an individual fourth-place trophy. Junior Bailey Bunn was the second top-scorer for Kentucky on the event with a 9.8875. Worley earned a 9.8750 from the judges with Procasky and Luksik earning 9.8500.
Finishing the meet on floor, the Wildcats tallied a 49.2750 to close out the evening. Worley was the top gymnast on the apparatus, anchoring the event with a 9.9375. Magnelli and Hailey Davis each scored a 9.8625 which was the second highest in the lineup for the Cats.
Worley, who placed seventh overall as an individual all-arounder, scored a 39.5875 through four events. Her overall score was made of a 9.8500 on vault, 9.9250 on bars, 9.8750 on beam and 9.9375 on floor.
Team 49 ended the season as one of three NCAA Division I gymnastics programs that scored 49.000 or higher on every event in every meet this season. The Wildcats also did not count a fall at any point in the historic season as well.
The National Championship finals will consist of LSU and Florida, advancing out of Session I, and Oklahoma and Utah out of Session II.
