Advertisement

Florida's Trinity Thomas scores perfect 10 on floor to beat Suni Lee for NCAA all-around title

Sunisa Lee beat out the best gymnasts in the world for an Olympic gold medal. Florida's Trinity Thomas proved to be a different challenge.

Thomas won the NCAA individual all-around gymnastics title on Thursday, beating out Lee, now competing for Auburn, by 0.1375 points across four events. She saved her best performance for the final event, scoring a perfect 10 on the floor exercise to clinch the title.

Watch for yourself:

In addition to the all-around title, Thomas took home wins in the floor exercise (obviously) and the uneven bars, where she scored a 9.9750. Lee won the balance beam with a 9.9850 while Utah's Jaedyn Rucker scored a 9.9625 for the vault title.

Thomas' routine also propelled the Gators to the NCAA team finals, to be decided between Florida, Auburn, Oklahoma and Utah on Saturday in Fort worth.

Lee made history in honoring her commitment to Auburn after capturing a dramatic gold in Tokyo last year, entering the season with the pressure of being the first first Olympic all-around champion to compete collegiately. She certainly looked a step above the competition at times, like when she landed a maneuver that had never been seen before at the college level.

An individual title, runner-up in the all-around and Auburn in the team final certainly reflect that talent, but Thomas was a step above, winning the SEC all-around championship in addition to her NCAA title. It was an impressive senior year for a gymnast who competed at the elite level before joining Florida in 2019, winning individual silvers a team gold at the 2018 Pan American championships.

Florida's Trinity Thomas competes in the floor exercise during the NCAA women's gymnastics championships Thursday, April 14, 2022, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Trinity Thomas was perfect on the floor. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)