25 Cheers for 25 Years: Trinity Thomas Wins 2022 NCAA All-Around National Championship

Trinity Thomas of the Florida Gators competes in the floor exerciseduring the Division I Womens Gymnastics Championship held at Dickies Arena on April 14, 2022 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

The 2022 season for Florida Gators gymnastics and star Trinity Thomas was a story of redemption, resilience, and records broken.

Thomas, a senior, had long been one of the nation’s top collegiate gymnasts, but in her final year at Florida she raised her level.

Florida went undefeated through the regular season and captured the SEC Championship (Thomas won the all-around at SECs with a stunning 39.825 score, one of the highest ever at the meet).

From there, Thomas carried her momentum into the NCAA Championships. In the national semifinal, she delivered an all-around total of 39.8125, which tied the NCAA Championships record, clinching the individual NCAA all-around title​.

Thomas was beating some of the best gymnasts in the world on her way to the title. Astonishingly, she secured the crown with a perfect 10.0 on floor exercise – a clutch finish that edged out Olympic champion Sunisa Lee of Auburn.

Thomas also earned national titles on floor exercise (10.0) and uneven bars (9.975) during that semifinal, showcasing her exceptional versatility​.

Thomas’s senior year was filled with jaw-dropping highlights.

Over the course of 2022, she scored an unthinkable number of perfect 10.0s and season’s end, she had more perfect scores than any gymnast in school history (ultimately getting 12 career 10.0s by the close of 2022, across all four events).

More importantly, Thomas brought a consistent and steady presence, meet after meet.

In the NCAA Finals, Florida found itself locked in a tight battle for the team title. Thomas again came through with a perfect floor routine in the final rotation, helping Florida post its highest score of the year.

She left it all on the floor, literally.

The Gators ultimately finished national runners-up, just behind Oklahoma, but their result was still historic. It marked Florida’s best finish in seven years, and Thomas’s individual all-around gold was the program’s first since 2016.

While the Gators fell just short of the team trophy, Thomas’s impact on the program was immeasurable.

She won 25 event titles during the season and ended her career as a 27-time All-American, cementing her status among the all-time greats at Florida.

Thomas herself reflected on what made 2022 special: “This team really had something special… we’re going to go back, and we’re going to be excited about second place, that’s OK. But I know that Florida has more to give,” she said after the NCAA Finals.

Looking at it now, Trinity Thomas’s senior campaign stands as one of the most accomplished seasons in collegiate gymnastics history.

By ending her year with back-to-back perfect 10s on the sport’s biggest stage, Thomas ensured her name will be talked about of among Gators fans for years to come.

Her 2022 championship performance was not just an individual title, but a rallying cry for the program, inspiring teammates and coaches as they chase that elusive next national title.