Tag: Ashleigh Gnat

LSU gymnast Haleigh Bryant named top female athlete in Louisiana

Haleigh Bryant won the Corbett Award as the top female athlete in the state of Louisiana.

LSU gymnastics captured its first national title in program history this spring, and star [autotag]Haleigh Bryant[/autotag], arguably the best gymnast in the entire country, was a big reason for it.

As a senior in 2024, she became just the second LSU gymnast in program history to win the NCAA individual all-around title, joining Susan Jackson in 2010. For her efforts, she won the James J. Corbett Award as the top female athlete in the state of Louisiana.

Bryant becomes the fourth LSU gymnast to win the award, joining Jackson, [autotag]Sarah Finnegan[/autotag] (2019) and [autotag]Ashleigh Gnat[/autotag] (2017), who is currently on the coaching staff.

“My main goals this year were to win an SEC Championship and a national championship,” Bryant said in a release. “It was good for me to focus on those things, and when that happened, the individual honors followed. This year exceeded my dreams; I’m so thankful for my teammates and coaches. I couldn’t have done any of this without all of them.”

Bryant will attempt to run it back as she plans to return to LSU for her fifth and final season of collegiate eligibility as she works toward a Master’s degree.

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LSU gymnastics’ Jay Clark and Haleigh Bryant named finalists for prestigious Louisiana sports award

Haleigh Bryant and Jay Clark were. both nominated by the Sugar Bowl for prestigious Louisiana awards.

Waves of awards and nominations continue to roll in for LSU’s [autotag]Haleigh Bryant[/autotag] after she was the best gymnast in the country and led LSU to a national title in 2024. This time it was the James J. Corbett award, presented annually by the Allstate Sugar Bowl to the top male and female amateur athletes in the state of Louisiana.

Bryant was joined by her coach, [autotag]Jay Clark[/autotag], who received a nomination for the Collegiate Coach of the Year award, given to the top college coach in the state.

The winner of the coaches award will be announced on Friday, June 28 with the Corbett announcement coming not long after on Monday, July 8.

Bryant wouldn’t be the first Tiger to win the Corbett Award. She’d join the likes of [autotag]Susan Jackson[/autotag], [autotag]Ashleigh Gnat[/autotag], and [autotag]Sarah Finnegan[/autotag].

If Clark takes home the coaches award, he’d be the second LSU gymnastics coach to do so after [autotag]DD Breaux[/autotag] won in 2017 and 2019.

Also on the Coach of the Year list is former LSU men’s basketball coach [autotag]Will Wade[/autotag], who led McNeese State to a resurgent season and an NCAA Tournament appearance.

Former LSU QB and Heisman Trophy winner [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] was named a finalist for the male Corbett Award.

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Joe Burrow Foundation set to host event at LSU promoting mental health

Jimmy and Robin Burrow will return to Baton Rouge to participate in a discussion on breaking the stigma surrounding mental health.

The Joe Burrow Foundation is remaining active in the LSU and Baton Rouge community, with Jimmy and Robin Burrow set to return and participate in a conversation about breaking the stigma surrounding mental health.

According to a social media post from the foundation, former LSU athletes [autotag]Kevin Faulk[/autotag], [autotag]Delvin Breaux[/autotag] and [autotag]Ashleigh Gnat[/autotag] will also be taking part.

The event will take place on Monday, Jan 29 in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center at 6 p.m. CT. The event is open to the public and admission is free.

The Burrow Foundation will also be providing free Raising Cane’s to the event’s first 500 attendees.

The Joe Burrow Foundation primarily operates in Louisiana and Ohio after officially launching in October of 2022.

The organization’s “primary focus is helping children with mental illness and those experiencing food insecurity as well as providing resources and support to the underprivileged and underserved in a variety of ways.”

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Former LSU gymnast Ashleigh Gnat returns to program as assistant coach

Ashleigh Gnat returns to the LSU gymnastics program, three years after leaving her mark as one of the greatest gymnasts in Tigers history.

Ashleigh Gnat, remarkably one of the greatest gymnasts in LSU history, is returning to the program.

But this time, she’ll be doing so as an assistant coach.

She will join new Tigers head coach Jay Clark’s staff after being an assistant coach at Penn State last season.

Gnat finished her collegiate career in 2017, and left as one of the greatest LSU athletes of all-time. During her time in Baton Rouge, she was an All-American 17 times, a four-time SEC champion in floor, vault, and beam, while recording a perfect 10 score nine times.

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Her senior year, she was awarded the 2017 AAI Award, which is given to the top senior gymnast at the NCAA level.

The former Tigers great won 62 individual titles during her tenure with the Tigers, and was the recipient of the 2017 Corbett Award, given to the top male and female athletes in the state of Louisiana.

Her senior year was her best as she won a school-record 12 floor exercise titles.

Returning to LSU as an assistant coach will provide Gnat with the opportunity to teach and mentor the current LSU gymnasts on their quest for more individual titles, and more importantly, a national championship.

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Gnat’s occupation with the staff puts her coaching the balance beam, a portion of the sport that she strongly competed in while a member of the team.

Following the retirement of legendary coach D-D Breaux, a spot had to be filled after Clark accepted the head coach position. While the school interviewed many candidates, Gnat was the perfect fit.

Her legacy at LSU will never be forgotten, and now she gets a chance to make more memories, this time while coaching the team instead of competing.

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