Lady Flames Gymnastics Dominates At The Flipping Flames Invitational March 22

Coming off of a first-place team win at the National Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Club (NAIGC) Cherry Blossom Invitational in Bailey’s Crossroads, Virginia last month, the Liberty University Gymnastics team secured another first-place finish while hosting the Flipping Flames Invitational March 22.  

The Lady Flames competed against teams such as the United States Naval Academy, University of North Carolina at Charlotte Gymnastics Club, University of South Carolina Club Gymnastics and more, all ready to show their skills.  

As the last competition before nationals, the Lady Flames understood this was a crucial opportunity to fine-tune their routines, and many of the athletes pushed their limits.  

“A lot of my girls today added harder tumbling passes,” Liberty Head Coach Jessie Lowe said. “Sarah Dyk upgraded her pass. Kailyn (Rowland) upgraded her whole floor routine, and they did a good job fighting for landings on those.” 

Competing at Level 9, the Lady Flames secured first place with a total score of 111.5.  

“I know this is a competitive program,” Lowe said. “We have the talent to stay in the highest level, and it will be fun going to nationals and to compete against the other really competitive Level 9 teams.” 

At the invitational, the only other Level 9 team was the U.S. Naval Academy team, and South Carolina had one competitor. Lowe said that Level 9 is the hardest level of competition, which contributes to the lower number of schools choosing to compete here.  

Freshman Malaika Campbell delivered an impressive performance, placing in three of four events and winning first place All-Around in Level 9 competition with a score of 36.9. She took first place on vault with a 9.4, second place on bars with a 9.4, and third place on beam with a 9. Across all levels, Campbell led her team with a 10th place finish. 

Campbell narrowly missed the podium in the floor event while attempting some new skills in her routine, which Lowe said were more difficult.  

Junior Annabella James captured second place in the All-Around Level 9 standings with a total score of 36.2, an improvement from her 34.85 total from the Cherry Blossom Invitational. She managed to earn a third-place spot on the podium in two of the four events, placing third on bars with a 9.35 and in her floor routine with a 9.15.  

Freshman Kaylee Ockerman was able to deliver more top performances in two contests Saturday. 

“She (Ockerman) hit a big floor and vault today,” Lowe said. 

 Ockerman secured second place in the vault event with a score of 9.35 and first place with her floor routine, scoring a 9.45.  

 Dyk, a sophomore, also had a standout day in two competitions. Dyk earned first place on the bars, scoring a 9.65. She continued to dominate her category by winning the beam event with a score of 9.3. 

With less than two weeks before heading to the NAIGC Nationals, Lowe felt her athletes improved through safely implementing new skills in their routines. 

“They might not have hit those skills, but putting it in the competition is a big deal for them,” Lowe said. 

The Flipping Flames Invitational provided a successful day for the Lady Flames, allowing them to see areas of improvement before their final competition.  

“We have about a week and a half left to really dial in landing and dial in our confidence and have a lot of fun,” Lowe said.  

The Lady Flames will head to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to compete in the NAIGC Nationals meet from April 2-5. 

Clardy is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion.