Aug. 15, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Four University of Kentucky gymnasts have been named Scholastic All-America award winners for posting a year-long or cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher, it was announced by the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women recently.
Making the list for Kentucky was senior Storey Morris, juniors Caitlyn Ciokajlo and Catlin Satkowiak and sophomore Audrey Harrison. This is the second consecutive season that Morris, Ciokajlo and Satkowiak have been honored, while it is the first honor for Harrison.
Kentucky also had four honorees on the award list last season. Prior to 2011, UK had not placed four or more gymnasts on the list since 2003. Kentucky’s highest mark in school history is nine award winners, which was set in 2001.
Morris, Ciokajlo and Harrison all had good years in the gym, while Satkowiak left the competitive side of gymnastics midseason but completed the year as a student manager. Morris led the team in average on vault and uneven bars, while Ciokajlo won four event titles on bars during the year, including a career-best 9.875 on bars three times. Harrison was the team’s best all-around gymnast during the year, winning a team-best seven event titles, including four in the all-around competition.
Kentucky finished the 2012 season ranked 25th nationally with a National Qualifying Score of 390.240. The top-25 final ranking was the third-consecutive for Kentucky. The ranking made head coach Tim Garrison the first head coach in school history to lead his team to a top-25 final ranking in his first season, according to records kept since 1996.
UK made its 24th appearance in an NCAA Regional last season under Garrison, who became the first coach in school history to lead a team to a 196 team score in his first season. The Wildcats had several other accomplishments throughout the season, including entering the NCAA Regionals with the second-highest Regional Qualifying score in school history. The Wildcats ended the regular season with three consecutive team scores of 195.875 or higher, which was the best three-meet stretch in school history.
Individually, student-athletes were recognized for attaining a year-long or cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher. Across all three divisions 471 student-athletes hit the 3.5 benchmark while 60 of those earned perfect 4.0 GPAs.
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