HBCU “HERstory” has been made. Representing Fisk University, Morgan Price is now USA Gymnastics’s first All-Around National Champion from an HBCU.
Price emerged as a national champion at the USAG’s competition on April 12. She joined Fisk’s gymnastics team two years ago, the first-ever program established at an HBCU. The Tennessee school’s athletic program shared the barrier-breaking news on its Instagram.
Price scored
above 9.8 on her floor exercise, balance beams, uneven bars, and vault. For her performances at the events, she received 39.225 in total. Her high achievement cemented her status as a national champion.While Black women, from Dominique Dawes to Simone Biles, have dominated gymnastics before Price, her inclusion sheds light on HBCUs taking part in the sport. Talladega College is the only other HBCU that hosts a gymnastics program. However, Wilberforce University in Ohio will soon be the third to join the ranks.
To get their programs off the ground, all three institutions partnered with Brown Girls Do Gymnastics to help aspiring Black gymnasts fulfill their journeys at HBCUs. Through this HBCU gymnastics alliance, more schools are working toward establishing their own teams for students. Fisk, which started their program in 2022, shared that this mission will help diversify women’s gymnastics at a collegiate level.
“We could not
be more excited to launch the first HBCU Intercollegiate Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Team,” explained the school’s then-president, Dr. Vann Newkirk. “Fisk University has always been an educational leader and this women’s gymnastics program will embody all the qualities that define the Fisk experience: excellence, determination, and a commitment to a better tomorrow.”In the meantime, Price’s road to nationals is not over yet. On April 14, she will continue performing in individual events for the vault, bars, and floor. She will be able to receive even more medals to add to her latest accolade.
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