STATE CENTRAL | 2026 Girls Gymnastics

The 2026 IHSA Girls Gymnastics State Finals, presented by COUNTRY Financial, are set for Friday and Saturday, February 20-21 at Palatine High School.

The 2025-26 school year is the 125th in the IHSA's storied history. Learn more about some of the pivotal student competitors, coaches, and moments from the IHSA's first 125 years here.

A schedule, links to important state final info, and a preview can be found below…

---2026 IHSA GIRLS GYMNASTICS STATE FINALS---
Friday & Saturday, February 20-21
Palatine High School | Palatine | Directions
GoFan Tickets | Friday | Saturday
State Final Info | Schedule | Qualifiers | Results & Info
State Final Merchandise | Minerva Promotions
Download/Order State Final Program | PIP Printing
Photos from Visual Image Photography

---STATE FINAL SCHEDULE---
Friday, February 20 | Tickets
2:00 PM | Prelims in Individual Events, All-Around Finals

Saturday, February 21 | Tickets
2:15 PM | Individual Events in the following order:
Vault and Uneven Bars alternating performances
Vault Awards
Uneven Bars Awards
All-Around Awards
--15-minute break--
Balance Beam and Floor Exercise alternating performances
Beam Awards
Floor Awards
3:45 PM | Team Awards

ALL-AROUND
2026 Sectional Champions:
Julia Shulman, Conant & Jolee Waddington, Palatine (tie, 37.6000)
Annika Troncoso, Glenbrook South (37.4750)
Avery Allen, Andrew ( 36.8250)
Reese Lackey, Geneva (36.6500)
Top Returnees: Vernon Hills junior Mya Brusso hopes to become her school's first-ever All-Around champ, as she returns after placing third at state a year ago. Meanwhile, co-Sectional champ, Jolee Waddington of Palatine, hopes to parlay her state final experience (T6th in 2025, T2nd in 2024) into a state title. Prairie Ridge junior Bryleigh Cooper rounds out the returning Top 10 athletes, as she finished in eighth a year ago.

VAULT
2026 Sectional Champions:
Jolee Waddington, Palatine (9.7000)
Mya Brusso, Vernon Hills (9.6500)
Avery Perrone, Downers Grove South Coop & Keira Osborne, Lincoln-Way East Coop (tie, 9.4250)
Annabella Suchan, Lake Park & Nicole Sienkiewicz, Glenbard West (tie, 9.4000)
Top Returnees: Downers Grove South's Caroline Phillip could be one to watch, as the junior placed seventh in the state a year ago. Mundelein senior Lexie Ede (T8th) and Prairie Ridge junior Nora Terhaar (10^th) also return after placing in the Top 10 in the state in 2025.

UNEVEN PARALLEL BARS
2026 Sectional Champions:
Nora Terhaar, Prairie Ridge Coop (9.5500)
Allie Mietus, Glenbrook South (9.5000)
Caroline Phillip, Downers Grove South (9.3500)
Nicole Sienkiewicz, Glenbard West & Melania Veselovsky, York (tie, 9.2500)
Top Returnees: Tehaar, a Sectional champ for Prairie Ridge, is back to defend her state title and hopes to follow Hersey's Sabrina Nemcek as the latest to go back-to-back in the event after Nemcek won state titles in 2023 and 2024. Expect stiff competition from Palatine senior Jolee Waddington, who was third in 2024 and the state runner-up in 2025. Downers Grove South senior Kaelyn Landry, fifth at state a year ago, is another top contender.

BALANCE BEAM
2026 Sectional Champions:
Lexie Ede, Mundelein (9.5500)
Jolee Waddington, Palatine (9.5500)
Reese Lackey, Geneva (9.3250)
Edith Condon, Downers Grove South Coop & Kaelyn Landry, Downers Grove South Coop (tie, 9.2250)
Top Returnees: Nine of the Top 10 finishers in the beam from the 2025 State Final meet have graduated, leaving Vernon Hills junior Mya Brusso (10^th) as the lone returnee from that group. Five of the six 2026 Sectional champions in the event are seniors, so it will be another experienced field.

FLOOR EXERCISE
2026 Sectional Champions:
Nora Terhaar, Prairie Ridge Coop (9.6250)
Annika Troncoso, Glenbrook South (9.6000)
Lucia Caruso, Neuqua Valley (9.3500)
Reese Lackey, Geneva (9.3250)
Top Returnees: Hersey's Maria Reyes is back at state after earning third-place in the state a year ago as a freshman. Geneva Sectional champ Reese Lackey (4th) and Palatine's Jolee Waddington (5th) return after Top 5 finishes in 2025 and will perform back-to-back in Friday's prelims. Neuqua Valley senior Lucia Caruso (T6th) and Lincoln-Way East junior Jillian Riebe (T9th) add depth after Top 10 finishes in 2025.