Gophers gymnast Hooten qualifies for national vault competition

The University of Minnesota gymnastics team’s season ended over the weekend but one member of the team is headed to nationals.

Senior Mya Hooten qualified for the national vault competition, which will take place in Fort Worth, Texas, from April 18 through 20.

The Woodbury native earned her spot in the competition thanks to her 9.975 score during last week’s semifinal round at the Fayetteville Regional.

Hooten is the program’s first individual qualifier for the national competitions since Lexy Ramler in 2019 and could become Minnesota’s second national chamption ever, joining Marie Roethlisberger whon won on uneven bars in 1990.

While she’ll be Minnesota’s first individual qualifier in five years, it isn’t her first trip to nationals, as she was part of the Gophers squads that went as a team in 2021 and 2022. In those competitions, she was a First Team All-American on floor and Second Team All-American on vault. This year, she was a regular season First Team All-American on both floor and vault, having won the Big Ten title in both competitions and uneven bars.