Charles represents Simpson at national meet

COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Emma Charles represented the Simpson College women's gymnastics team on Saturday at the NCGA National Championships hosted by Ursinus College.

Charles competed on vault and earned a score of 9.150 for her performance. She was the first national qualifier in program history.

"I'm incredibly proud of Emma for representing our young program on the big stage," head coach Emily Barrett-Payne said. "To qualify for nationals, especially as a freshman, is a huge accomplishment. We're looking forward to bringing back what we learned this weekend to the entire team so we can learn and grow more next season!"

Simpson set new program records on bars and floor this season, while also surpassing 186.000 team points on two occasions and picking up its first-ever meet victory. Individually, Charles either tied or set a school record on three of four events. Sophomore Bella Dix tied the remaining program record on floor.