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Five Florida gymnasts have been nominated for the 2025 AAI Award. A coach’s award, American Athletic, Inc. recognizes senior gymnasts for their dedication and performance in the sport. This honor is considered the “Heisman of Gymnastics.”
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Florida’s Nominees
Sloane Blakely
All-around athlete Sloane Blakely has scored over a 9.9 on every event this season, including a perfect 10 on floor.
Blakely now finds herself in a new role for the Gators, as she suffered a season-ending lower leg injury in Florida’s meet at Oklahoma. She underwent surgery this past Monday.
Ellie Lazzari
Despite being known for her beautiful beam performances, Ellie Lazzari has contributed most to the vault lineup this season. She put up a season-high 9.9 in Florida’s loss to Arkansas on Feb. 7.
The fifth-year was among those nominated last year.
Riley McCusker
Bradenton, Florida, native Riley McCusker is back in the Gators lineups after an ankle injury kept her on the sidelines last year. She has competed in Florida’s bar lineup every meet this season, scoring as high as 9.9.
McCusker’s leadership was on full display at Oklahoma when she stepped into the beam lineup following two injuries.
Victoria Nguyen
Florida fifth-year Victoria Nguyen has competed on every event but bars this season, although she has a career best of 9.95 on the apparatus. She returned to the vault lineup last week and tied her career high of 9.975.
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Outside of the gym, Nguyen serves on the UF Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Executive Board.
Leanne Wong
All-around star Leanne Wong rounds out the nominees for the Gators. The 22-time All-American has scored eight perfect 10s in her career, including one on beam against Auburn on Feb. 14.
This leader for Florida is committed to many things outside of the team. She was an alternate for both the Tokyo and Paris Olympic squads. She also won gold medals in the team competition for the 2022 and 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
Not only does Wong run her own hair bow business, but she also released a book called “My Journey: Trust the Process” in March 2024. She recently started the Leanne Wong Foundation, which donates leftover food from campus dining halls to GRACE Marketplace, the local homeless shelter.
SEC Nominees
Including the Gators, the SEC has 18 gymnasts nominated for the AAI Award.
Last year’s national champions, the LSU Tigers, only have one team member on the list. Aleah Finnegan stands alone after her teammate Haleigh Bryant won the award in 2024.
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Other standout SEC nominees include Oklahoma’s Jordan Bowers and Audrey Davis. The fifth-year Davis was nominated last season as well.
Shania Adams (Alabama), Olivia Hollingsworth (Auburn) and Skylar Killough-Wilhelm (Kentucky) are also second-time nominees.
Up Next
The list of 59 athletes will become six later this month before the final winner is announced the week of the national championship in April.
