Lady Flames gymnasts prep for nationals by winning Flippin’ Flames Invitational

Saturday, March 22

Lynchburg, VA

1:00 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

Flipping Flames Invitational

Lady Flames sophomore Sarah Dyk placed first in both the uneven bars and the balance beam. (Photos by Grace Greer)

Lady Flames gymnasts prep for nationals by winning Flippin’ Flames Invitational

3/25/2025 3:55:00 PM | Gymnastics

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Several team members introduced new skills into their routines, which they will strive to perfect before the April 2-5 NAIGC Championships in Pittsburgh.

Gallery: (3-25-2025) Flippin' Flames Invitational;

In Saturday's second annual Flippin' Flames Invitational, Liberty University's women's gymnastics team repeated as Level 9 champions, sweeping the top three places in the All-Around competition and defeating the Naval Academy at the LaHaye Multipurpose Center. The Lady Flames totaled 111.45 points to sink the Midshipwomen (102.55).

"Navy was the only other Level 9 team here and there was one Level 9 individual competing for South Carolina," Lady Flames Head Coach Jessie Lowe said, noting most of the teams on hand competed in the Xcel Silver, Platinum, or Diamond divisions. "We had a really good meet, with some good (performances). I love showcasing these girls here. They get a really good turnout (of fans) when they compete and these girls get really hyped about getting their friends out to meets, so it's really great for them to put it all together."

Liberty freshman Malaika Campbell finished first in the All-Around with a 36.9-point total on the four events — balance beam, floor exercise, uneven bars, and vault. She was followed closely by team captain Annabella James (36.2) and fellow Lady Flames junior Kate Haluck (35.6).

"Mali hasn't had a perfect meet yet where she's hit all four events the way she wants to, but she's still done exceptionally well, and I'm excited to see if she can put it all together at nationals," Lowe said.

Sophomore Sarah Dyk didn't compete in the All-Around, but won two of her three events — bars (9.65), followed by Campbell (9.4), James (9.35), and Haluck (9.3); and beam (9.3), followed by freshman Kelsey Bailis (9.1), and Campbell (9.0).

"Sarah Dyk had a great meet," Lowe said, noting she also placed eighth in the floor exercise (8.9). "She hit all three of her events."

Campbell won the vault with her 9.4 score followed by fellow freshman Kaylee Ockerman (9.35) and Haluck (9.1), who tied a Navy competitor for third place. James (8.8) finished fourth in that event, and also placed fourth on beam (8.9) and third in the floor exercise (9.15). Ockerman (9.45) won that event with Bailis (9.2) runner-up and Campbell (9.1) tied for third.

"We added a lot of improvements on our floor routines and got some more hits on beam," Lowe said. "Kaylee Ockerman hit a big vault, and Mali upgraded her floor routine with a more difficult double back tumbling pass. A lot of girls added harder tumbling passes. Sarah Dyke upgraded her pass and (junior) Kailyn (Rowland) upgraded her floor routine and they did a good job fighting for landings on those. So there were a lot of little successes. They might not have hit all those skills perfectly, but putting them into competition was a big deal for them.

Lowe said the Lady Flames used the home meet as a final tune-up for the April 2-5 NAIGC National Championships in Pittsburgh, where their 10-11 gymnasts competing hope to turn in peak performances against the other Level 9 programs in the field.

"We've just got to try to clean it up and hit those landings better," she said, noting historically, there have been between four and eight teams competing in Level 9 at NAIGC Nationals. "We're a competitive program and we have the talent to stay at the highest level and go to nationals and compete against the other really competitive Level 9 programs like Penn State and JMU. They beat us at their meets, but we left a lot on the table, so I'm excited to see what we can do up there."

She said Texas A&M usually has a good team and it is difficult to predict how others from out West will fare in the competition.
"There could be some surprises for sure," Lowe said.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Noah Richter/Club Sports Video & Media Assistant