UW-Oshkosh Gymnastics wins back-to-back national titles

OSHKOSH, Wis. (WBAY) - UW-Oshkosh gymnastics bringing home the hardware this weekend once again. For the second straight year, the Titans are national champions.

“My voice is cracking because we were going absolutely insane at nationals trying to keep up the energy,” UWO sophomore Mia Lucero says. “The second we heard it, there were instant tears everywhere. We were not expecting it.”

“Screaming and laughing, it was just so overwhelming and exciting,” Titans freshman Reanna McGibboney says.

Oshkosh finishing with a 192.525 winning score in Winona, topping La Crosse, who beat them earlier this season.

“I think that there was some pressure of that repeat at the beginning of the season. Once the scores started coming and the routines started going well, they kind of started believing more that this could happen,” Titans head coach Lauren Karnitz says.

“We kind of had this expectation to uphold,” UWO senior Trinity Sawyer says. “It was kind of an uphill climb getting there, but we ended up on top and it was great.”

This is the Titans sixth overall championship and their fourth National Collegiate Gymnastics Association title. The other three came in 2022, 2007 and 1989.

“They’re really just a team that has that grit to them,” Karnitz says. “Not everything was perfect all the time, but they were what it means to be a team.”

UWO attributes their success to the depth the team has. That proved right as no Titan won first in any event at the national competition. However, the high scores from many routines added up to a title.

“We’re not going to complain, we’re just going to do what we’re told because we really wanted to experience it too. I’m so glad we go to. It’s just unreal,” McGibboney says.

“Our goal is to be continuing this streak of being national champions. We want to go home graduating with a full set of rings,” Lucero says.

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