Michigan State Gymnast Schulte Earns All-America Honors at NCAA Championships

Michigan State's Skyla Schulte and Nikki Smith concluded the Spartans' gymnastics season at the NCAA Championships.

Michigan State's coach Mike Rowe, right, celebrates with Skyla Schulte after her in the bars routine / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA

Michigan State’s gymnastics team recently concluded its best season in program history, finishing with a record of 29-7.

The team's season ended with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Gainesville Regional Final earlier this month. However, two gymnasts, sophomore Nikki Smith and junior Skyla Schulte, individually made it to the NCAA Championships in Fort Worth, Texas.

Schulte put on an impressive performance in the final routine of the third rotation. The junior earned a 9.9125, finishing tied for seventh place. Her score was good enough for her to earn second-team All-America honors. 

That recognition, combined with her second-team All-America honors on beam in 2022, makes Schulte the first Spartan gymnast to earn multiple NCAA All-America honors. 

Schulte is only the second Spartan gymnast to earn numerous All-American nominations, joining former Spartans gymnast Pam Steckroat, an AIAW All-American on bars in 1977-78. Schulte owns the fifth-ever All-America honor for Michigan State gymnastics. Schulte became the Spartans’ first gymnast to qualify for multiple NCAA Championships since 2007-08 when Rochell Robinson did so. Schulte is only the third-ever Spartan to qualify for various NCAA Championships.

It was Smith’s first NCAA Championships appearance, as she competed on beam for only the fifth time this season. She began in the second rotation for the Spartans, following Stanford's beam lineup. Smith scored a 9.825, her second-best season score in the event. In the first session, she finished 20th overall.

Smith had a successful season overall, earning regular-season All-America honors on vault.

The Spartans’ appearance in the NCAA Championships marked the third consecutive year they have qualified an individual competitor. It was also the second successive season the Spartans sent multiple individual qualifiers to the championship round.

The meet officially ended MSU gymnastics' best season in program history. The Spartans' 29 wins led to their ranking of 14th in the country. The Spartans swept the regular season and conference championship, winning its second consecutive Big Ten regular season championship and its first-ever Big Ten Championship. 

Schulte earned Michigan State gymnastics’ first Big Ten all-around championship. Smith and Schulte also earned first-team All-Big Ten honors this season. This season, the Spartans earned four of their best team scores in program history.

In early February, the team recorded its highest-ever road score, 198.050, at Michigan.

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