CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Four Fighting Illini student-athletes qualified for the 2026 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Regional Championships, which was announced on Monday.
Chloe Cho (all-around), Summer Clancy (beam), Eden King (floor), and Lyden Saltness (bars) all earned spots in the Lexington, Ky., Regional, which is slated for April 2-5.
Ranked No. 8 on bars and No. 10 in the all-around nationally, Cho put together a historic 2026 regular season, collecting 25 total titles, the third-most in a single campaign in program history. Recording 17 routines of at least a 9.9 across three different events, Cho has been ranked among the top-10 gymnasts nationally on bars and all-around throughout the regular season.
Her 39.575 all-around score at the Illini's Big 4 meet at Minnesota marked her career-high and is now tied for the sixth-best score in program history. She also tied for seventh on bars at the Big Ten Championships, while Cho surpassed 1,000 points in her career earlier this campaign.
Clancy heads to regionals after already putting together a phenomenal freshman season. Scoring at least a 9.8 in eight of her 11 appearances on beam this season, Clancy has collected two total event titles in 2026, including her first career beam win on Feb. 15. She was also named to the Big Ten All-Championships team on vault.
King progresses to Kentucky on floor after putting together some of her best routines over the last few weeks. She has registered three consecutive 9.900 marks on the event heading into regionals, including a team-high 9.900 on the apparatus at the Big Ten Championships.
Saltness earned her place at regionals on bars. She has posted six scores of at least 9.900 thus far this season, including three routines of 9.925. Ranking as high as No. 6 in the country on the apparatus earlier this year, Saltness has been in the bars lineup for the first time since 2024 after competing exclusively on beam last season.
Illinois' four student-athlete representatives will take part in the second round of the Lexington Regional on April 3.
