AUBURN, Ala. – Ashley Johnston and Kurt Hettinger of the Auburn gymnastics program were named the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association Region 1 Co-Assistant Coaches of the Year, the association announced.
"I'm very excited for both Kurt and Ashley," head coach Jeff Graba said. "It is an award from our peers and that means a lot to a coach. These two deserve the recognition for all their hard work and dedication to this team. We had many big moments this year and they played a major role in those. I couldn't be more proud."
Auburn had an outstanding year, narrowly missing a share of the regular season SEC championship. The Tigers finished with a 5-2 record in the conference for sole possession of second place. That was the highest regular season finish in program history.
In the postseason, Auburn advanced to the Sweet Sixteen with a 197.075, marking the highest regional score in program history.
Auburn has enjoyed a program-best three sellouts of Auburn Arena in 2019 and finished the year with a perfect 5-0 record at home. That included upsets of LSU (Jan. 11) and Georgia (Jan. 25).
The duo guided Auburn's all-around pair in sophomore Drew Watson and freshman Derrian Gobourne to big wins throughout the year as one of the two has claimed the AA title in 10 of 11 regular season meets. Gobourne picked up SEC All-Freshman accolades for her all-around finish at the yearly SEC meet.
As primary coach for bars, Hettinger helped Auburn have one of its most consistent seasons as the squad posted a 49.250 or higher in the event nine times. The team set a new program record on bars with a 49.600 and the Tigers finished the regular season ranked eighth nationally and third in the SEC in the event.
A pair of Tigers in Samantha Cerio and Gracie Day enjoyed a lot of success in the event, ranking among the league's best. Cerio was consistent all season, while Day set a career high with a 9.975. Auburn won at least a share of the individual bars title in all but two regular season meets this year.
Johnston guided the beam squad to big scores this year, including a 49.550 at the annual Elevate the Stage meet. That score was the highest of the season and second-highest in program history. The Tigers have seen big scores in the event this year as senior Abby Milliet and sophomore Allie Riddle each have a 9.95 under their belts. Sophomore Meredith Sylvia has anchored the squad throughout most of the season and has scored a pair of 9.925s for the team. Sylvia and Milliet finished among the SEC's best in the event. The Tigers captured six beam titles this season.
In addition, the pair have helped the vault and floor squads to success this year. Auburn claimed eight of 11 regular season vault titles, while the floor crew have six. Gobourne became the program's first-ever national champion with a 9.95 on vault at the NCAA meet, while earning All-SEC In both vault and floor this year.