UCLA Club Sports

The taste of a gold medal can outweigh the grind it took to accomplish it.

But for UCLA Club Gymnastics, redemption was even sweeter.

Spearheaded by the squad's XCEL Platinum team victory, UCLA Club Gymnastics won two team titles and 12 individual titles at the 2025 NAIGC national championships in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from April 2 to 5. The Platinum women's team won the championship outright after missing the title by .750 last year, while freshman Ben Harte led the Level 9 men's team to a winning 94.000 team total.

Sophomore Payton Rater led the way Saturday during the Platinum team finals, scoring a 38.000 in the all-around to place fourth overall. The 2024 national vault champion also notched a 9.775 on beam to tie for second on the event alongside sophomore treasurer Jillian Ostaszewicz.

"We needed redemption from last year to bring back the title to UCLA and I'm proud to have been part of that," Ostaszewicz said. "I was proud of myself because I wanted to improve my score from prelims and minimize a few deductions."

Alongside her two other individual titles, senior Isabel Folkers capped off her career with a national-title winning 9.825 on floor to send UCLA's Platinum squad to the top of the podium. The Platinum team went undefeated all season long, and the national title marks its first in program history.

"This season, I came back determined to leave no doubt, to perform with even more passion, and to help bring the title home," Folkers said. "To not only hit my routine but to play a role in our team winning the platinum division was the perfect way to close out my collegiate career."

Level 9's Harte and coach Jonathan Moore took home three individual titles each in their respective divisions – the most from any Bruin throughout the three-day competition. With a vault he has been training for less than a year, Harte's Yurchenko layout notched a 9.400 to win the event title, while Moore's 9.800 won the Community division.

After an uncharacteristic fall in the qualifying round, Harte notched a 9.500 on his Euphoria themed floor routine – a score that would have placed second in the event final had he qualified.

Co-President Aaron Doyle was UCLA's sole representative for the Level 9 men's floor final after qualifying in second with a 8.950. And in his last ever collegiate floor routine, the senior placed third with a 8.750 despite falling on his final tumbling pass.

Despite fracturing her foot during the preseason, freshman Megan Palmer qualified to the XCEL Diamond floor finals alongside junior apparel coordinator Siena Hunt. Palmer, who also suffered a concussion during her preparations, had not run a full floor routine since Fall quarter yet notched a career-high 9.750.

"I hadn't done any floor since breaking my ankle until warm up that day," Palmer said. "I had gone into nationals with the mindset that every routine I got to compete, good or bad, was a win, so getting the best score of my life was really exciting."

Freshman trio Imani Castillo Yee, Isabella Dexter and Allison Yueh each competed in both the WAG and MAG divisions, with Castillo Yee taking second in the Intermediate floor final with a 11.750. Dexter stuck her half on-half off vault during Thursday's Beginner competition to secure bronze with a 11.000. 

Senior fundraising chair Alexander Kotnik nailed his Yurchenko 1.5 on all three days, posting the competition's highest score with a 16.850 to win the event during Friday's Open competition. Kotnik, who placed fourth in the event in the GymACT division his freshman year, soared to another first place vault finish in the Advanced division with a 13.500. 

But shortly before his massive 16.850, Kotnik was treated at the hospital after a wire cable left a gash in his forehead during his rings routine Friday. With blood splattered all over his uniform and the mat beneath him, Kotnik almost immediately returned to competition to perform one of the best vaults of his career.

"I'm annoyed I didn't get my nap," said Kotnik, who planned to rest during the time he spent in the emergency room.

Kontik, alongside sophomore Katy Hasser, were the only Bruins to compete in all 14 events of the women's artistic (WAG), men's artistic (MAG) and trampoline and tumbling (T&T) disciplines, and were honored as "Omnithon" participants at the competition's award ceremony.

Folkers again led the way during Thursday's T&T competition, winning both the New Flyers' power tumbling and tramopline events. And despite a load of back pain, sophomore co-travel coordinator Juliana Gagliardi won the first national title of her career with a 56.000 in the Intermediate Flyers' power tumbling event. 

UCLA sent 35 of its athletes to Pittsburgh – its largest cohort to the national championships since the club was founded in 2015. And without $18,227 worth of help from its generous donors, UCLA would not have been able to accomplish as much as it did.

"We are sincerely grateful for all the support we received during this competition season," said Doyle, who served as a club officer from 2022-2025. "Without their continued help, none of this would have been possible."

Article by Aaron Doyle