For Arkansas freshman Joscelyn Roberson, the past 10 months have been a whirlwind.
From being named an Olympic alternate in June to traveling across the country with Simone Biles’ Gold Over America Tour, then arriving in Fayetteville to begin her NCAA career, she’s arguably been one of the busiest athletes in college gymnastics this season.
“It was definitely a learning curve,” Roberson said after making her first appearance at nationals—the first Arkansas freshman to qualify as an all-arounder since Jessica Yamzon in 2017. Rotating with Utah in Thursday’s semifinal, Roberson finished in the top 10 in the all-around in session two, tying for ninth all-time among Arkansas gymnasts at nationals.
During her freshman season, Roberson broke or set the Arkansas freshman all-around record three times. She also earned four All-SEC freshman honors and was named a WCGA regular-season and championship All-American on beam.
Coming into the NCAA, Roberson admitted she had no expectations for what college gymnastics would be like. She was aware individuals could qualify to nationals but wasn’t fully sure how the process worked. A 39.600 at the stacked Pennsylvania Regional—arguably one of the most competitive for all-arounders—secured her trip to Fort Worth.
