Mizzou takes third at NCAA Championship Final, clinches program’s best finish

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A record-breaking season ends with more history for No. 7 Mizzou Gymnastics.

The Tigers earned their best finish in program history at the team's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Championship Final, finishing in third place with a 197.2500 score. MU defeated No. 4 Utah (197.2375) while No. 5 UCLA (197.6125) captured second place and No. 2 Oklahoma (198.0125) secured its seventh national title.

With Saturday's result, head coach Shannon Welker's group also became the first women's team in school history to attain a third place finish or better in the postseason.

Mizzou trailed its three competitors for the majority of the meet but made a late push in the final two rotations. Helen Hu, who was crowned the program's first national champion at the NCAA Championship Semifinal, recorded the highest score of any performer on the balance beam at Saturday's competition, anchoring the team's third rotation with a 9.9625 score. The Tigers ended that event with a 49.3875, its second-best mark on any apparatus at the meet.

Then, the Tigers followed up their stunning balance beam rotation with a remarkable run on the floor exercise. Kennedy Griffin posted a team-best 9.9500 performance in that event, which clinched the third-highest individual effort on that apparatus. Amari Celestine (9.9125) and Jocelyn Moore (9.9000) also hit the 9.9000-threshold to help guide the team to its best score (49.4875) on any single event at the NCAA Championship Final.

MU's performances on those two rotations and a successful scoring inquiry on Amy Wier's balance beam routine, which increased her score to a 9.850, lifted the team above Utah to take third place.

Along with Hu and Griffin, Celestine was one of three Mizzou gymnasts to tally a top-five individual performance in a single event. The California native was part of a four-way tie for fourth place on the vault with a 9.9000 score, and she also compiled the fourth-highest all-around score at the meet with a 39.5375 effort. Celestine also was the team's best finisher on the uneven bars, reaching the 9.8625-mark.

Mizzou's historic 2025 season ends with a 25-11 overall record and numerous shattered records:

• First NCAA Championship Final Appearance
• First SEC Championship Session II Appearance
• Highest Regular Season National Qualifying Score Ranking (No. 7)
• Highest Regular Season National Qualifying Score (197.510)
• Highest Single-Meet Team Score (198.100)
• Highest Floor Exercise Team Score (49.725)
• Highest Balance Beam Team Score (49.575)