Published on Show Me Mizzou April 24, 2025
Story by Randall Roberts, BA ’88
In January, Mizzou gymnast Helen Hu stepped onto the balance beam at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., for the Tigers’ Southeastern Conference opener against the top-ranked Sooners. Amid the anticipated fanfare for the home team, Hu moved with an unhurried calm. Without hesitation, she launched into a handstand and continued her routine with a fluidity and precision that made her performance appear effortless.
A minute later, after she stuck her dismount without so much as a tremor, the scoreboard flashed a perfect 10. It was the first such score of the 2025 season and the first time in more than two decades that a Mizzou gymnast had achieved the mark on the beam. It was also a portent of what was to come: a historic season that culminated in the program’s first-ever appearance in the NCAA’s Four on the Floor national championship final.
This moment, dazzling as it was, almost never took place. After retiring in 2023, uncertain about her future in gymnastics, Hu spent a year traveling. It wasn’t until a return visit to Columbia, a brief stop by the gym and some encouragement from coach Shannon Welker that Hu found herself reconsidering. Her decision to return fueled a Tigers season in which the team consistently surpassing 197.000 — a benchmark in NCAA gymnastics, where the record is 198.925 out of a possible 200.
In mid-February, sophomore Kennedy Griffin earned her first career 10 in the floor exercise. Hu added two more 10s on beam later in the season, and graduate student Mara Titarsolej scored a 10 on uneven bars at the SEC Championships — bringing the team’s season total to five.
Such brilliance was confirmed on April 19 with their NCAA finals debut, where the Tigers finished third in the nation behind Oklahoma and UCLA — the best result in program history.
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