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Florida's Trinity Thomas adds another 10 honor to her accomplished collegiate career. Thomas is among the 2024 NCAA Today's Top 10 Award honorees. The award recognizes student-athletes for their successes on the field, in the classroom and in the community.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – It's one more 10 for Gator gymnast Trinity Thomas.

Thomas is among the 2024 NCAA Today's Top 10 Award honorees. The award recognizes student-athletes for their successes on the field, in the classroom and in the community. Recipients completed their athletics eligibility during the 2022-23 academic year and will be recognized at the NCAA Convention Welcome and Awards Presentation on Wednesday, Jan. 10, in Phoenix, Ariz.

The honorees are selected by the NCAA Honors Committee, composed of representatives of NCAA member schools, conferences and distinguished citizens, including past awardees.

"I am truly honored to be among this year's NCAA Today's Top 10. It is humbling to be mentioned among this class as they all are amazing people," Thomas said. "My time as a Gator was incredibly rewarding and I couldn't be more grateful for everyone who has helped me along the way. Thank you Gator Nation for your support during these amazing five years and the NCAA for this honor."

Here's a quick look at Thomas' accomplishments during her Florida career:

Success in Sport

Success in Academics

Community Service

Florida's NCAA Today's Top 10 Recipients

Thomas is the eighth Gator to receive one of the NCAA's top individual honors:

2024 NCAA Today's Top 10 Complete List

SEC – It Just Means More Today's Top 10 award winners.

Four SEC student-athletes are among the 2024 recipients to lead all leagues.

2024 NCAA Today's Top 10 Award Recipients

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Florida State University High School junior kicker Cole Allbaugh booted a 20-yard field goal with 25 seconds left in the game to give the Seminoles a 31-28 win over Trinity Catholic High School on Friday night.

The winning field goal was set up by a Trinity Catholic fumble, the Celtics’ fifth turnover of the game, which Florida State took advantage of by driving 66 yards to set up the winning score.

The hard-fought victory improved Florida State, one of the top teams in the state in Class 2S, to 4-1 on the season, while the disappointing loss dropped Class 1S Trinity Catholic, which has played a very tough schedule, to 1-4 overall.

“It seems every time we play Florida High it’s determined by three points or less and it came down to that again tonight,” said Celtics coach John Brantley. “We played another excellent team and I get criticized every now and then for playing all these good teams. But it’s only going to improve our football team and at the end of the season it shows. We just need to trust the process and stick together because it’s proven itself over the last four years. Nobody likes to lose, but I like what I saw from this team because I thought we improved in every area. If we quit turning the ball over and stop making silly mistakes, we’re going to be tough.”

Trinity Catholic, which has made a postseason run each of the last four years, took the opening kick and drove 65 yards in seven plays, as quarterback Preston Wright completed four passes, including a 17-yard scoring strike to sophomore running back James Pullings. The extra point by Cooper Badics gave the Celtics a 7-0 lead.

Florida State answered with a four-play, 63-yard march with senior quarterback Jeremy Johnston hitting wide receiver Kelsean Inman for a 55-yard touchdown pass. Allbaugh drilled the point after to tie the score at 7 midway through the first period.

Trinity Catholic, which moved the ball consistently against a good Seminoles defense, reached the Florida State nine on its next possession before a fumble short-circuited the drive.

After forcing a Florida State punt, Trinity Catholic marched 75 yards and found the end zone on a 2-yard run by backup quarterback AJ Cussins, who took over when Wright was shaken up after a late hit. The extra point made it 14-7 with 9:56 left in the second period.

Florida State’s next possession ended with an interception of a Johnston pass by Celtics junior cornerback Jaiden Alverio at the Trinity Catholic 30.

Trinity Catholic was forced to punt, and Florida State went 68 yards in two plays with senior tailback Micahi Danzy breaking loose for a 44-yard touchdown run. The point after tied the score at 14 at the half.

The Trinity Catholic defense stepped up in a big way on Florida State’s first possession of the second half as Johnston’s pass was tipped and junior defensive lineman Gerrick Gordon plucked the ball out of the air and rumbled 20 yards for a touchdown. The point after gave the Celtics a 21-14 lead.

Florida State wasted no time in answering as Johnston connected with Ashton Hampton for a 55-yard scoring pass down the right sideline. The point after tied the score at 21.

After an exchange of punts, Trinity Catholic turned the ball over on an interception by Seminoles cornerback Jessiah McGrew at the Celtics’ 39.

A pass interference penalty against Trinity Catholic moved the ball to the 24 and Johnston found Tyson Howard open over the middle for a 24-yard touchdown pass. Johnston completed 12 of 21 passes for 255 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. The extra point gave the Seminoles a 28-21 lead late in the third quarter.

A good return on the kickoff and a facemask penalty against Florida State gave Trinity Catholic excellent field position at its 43.

The Celtics drove 57 yards in11 plays with running back Jamarkus Starkes scoring from two yards out. The point after tied the game at 28 with 10:01 left to play.

Florida State was forced to punt and Trinity Catholic took over at its 42. The Celtics picked up a pair of first downs as Wright hit Davon Jones for a 12-yard gain and a first down at the Seminoles’ 45. Wright completed 19 of 28 passes for 214 yards with one touchdown and a pair of interceptions.

A fumble was recovered by Florida State at its 32-yard line to end the threat with 5:05 remaining to play.

The Seminoles calmly drove down the field with Johnston completing a key pass of 24 yards to Hampton. Jayden Threatts picked up 28 yards on a running play to give Florida State a first down at the Trinity Catholic 11-yard line.

The Celtics defense stiffened and forced a 20-yard field goal which Allbaugh made to give the Seminoles a 31-28 lead with 25 seconds left in the game.

The kickoff went through the end zone and Trinity Catholic took possession at its 20-yard line. The Celtics hopes for a miracle ended when Florida State cornerback Gabriel Miley intercepted Wright’s pass and returned it to the Trinity Catholic 3-yard line with 12.7 seconds remaining.

The Seminoles took a knee to seal the hard-fought victory. Despite committing five turnovers, Trinity Catholic was in the game until the very end.

“I thought our offense moved the ball well against a good Florida High defense, but you can’t turn the ball over that many times and beat a good team,” coach Brantley said. “We were hoping to come away with a win tonight, but I’m encouraged by what I saw and I’m excited for this football team so long as they stay up and keep buying in.”

Trinity Catholic will look to get back on the winning track on Friday when the Celtics take on Calvary Christian in Clearwater.

“We’ll go back to work on Monday and see what we’re made of,” coach Brantley said. “We’ve got some good leaders on this team, so we’ll practice next week and get ready to play a talented Calvary Christian team on the road.”

Liam Rooney

Florida High's week one football game Friday at Trinity Catholic has been postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the Celtics program, the team announced via Twitter on Thursday morning.

The statement on Twitter read: "It's with great disappointment that we must announce this week's game against Florida High has been postponed due to a COVID outbreak within the team."

Florida High head coach Jarrod Hickman said the team will use this week as a bye week and shift the team's focus to next week's game against Ponte Vedra.

He said the news was disappointing for his team following a week of preparation.

"I think it's disappointing for the kids, I mean those are the ones that are putting in a lot of hard work and a lot of time and the effort," Hickman said. "It's certainly a shock to your system when you prepare all week long and then we walk off the field late last night and get some news that wasn't good."

The game has been rescheduled to Sep. 29, previously a scheduled bye week for the Seminoles.

Florida High will now open its regular season at home against Ponte Vedra on Friday, Sep. 1.

The Seminoles will now have 10 straight weeks of football, adding an extra challenge to a difficult schedule for Florida High.

"It'll force us to look at trying to go 10 in a row, which is not an easy thing to do," Hickman said. "The circumstances are what they are and you can't complain about that, all you can do is try to go one week at a time, as cliche as that is."

Since 2020-21 the frequency of COVID causing games to be postponed or canceled has dropped dramatically, but games still remain at risk if an outbreak is to occur due to the viral nature of the virus.

The game was scheduled to be played at Trinity Catholic in Ocala, which is in Marion County.

In the Florida Department of Health COVID-19 data report, which is released every two weeks, the state recorded 18,518 cases of COVID from August 11-17, with Marion County recording 314 cases and Leon recording 218.

Big Bend Week One Football Schedule

Thursday, Aug 24.: Rickards at Crestview 7 p.m.

Friday, Aug 25.: Wakulla at Chiles 7 p.m.; NFC at Leon 7 p.m.; Halifax Academy at Aucilla Christian 7 p.m.; Fort Walton Beach at Godby 7 p.m.; FAMU DRS at Bozeman 7 p.m.; Deerfield-Windsor at Maclay 7:30 p.m.; Gadsden County at Lowndes 7:30 p.m.; JPII at IMG Academy White 7:30 p.m.; Jefferson County at Hamilton County 7:30 p.m.; Carrollwood Day at Madison County 7:30 p.m.; Fort White at Taylor County 7:30 p.m.

It didn't come without drama, but the second-ranked Florida Gators gymnastics team advanced to the NCAA finals Thursday afternoon, posting a top-two finish from the first session from Fort Worth's Dickie Arena.

The Gators were edged by the sixth-ranked LSU Tigers in the session, 197.4750-197.4000.

But all that matters is the fact that Florida sat in second place, which secured the Gators a spot in Saturday's Final Four.

Trinity Thomas: Back like she never left

Florida fifth-year senior Trinity Thomas abruptly ended her floor routine on March 31 during the Gators' regional semifinal in Pittsburgh after suffering a lower-leg injury.

And ever since then, gymnastics fans have wondered if they'd seen the last of Thomas, who won the NCAA's all-around national title last year.

Turns out, they hadn't.

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"I've been working so hard to get as much treatment and physical therapy in as I can," Thomas said in an interview with ESPN after Thursday's session. "When I came here for practice day, I swung some bars and did dismounts for the first time."

After initially being omitted from the lineup, Thomas competed in both the uneven bars and vault and appeared sharp in both.

Thomas' turn on bars was her first event since her injury and after her turn, one might question if there was any injury at all. After executing a double layout, Thomas stuck her landing and earned a 9.950 − a mark that led the entire session.

Heading into Thursday's meet, there was a hunch that if Thomas competed, it would likely only be on bars. So when Thomas readied herself for vault, it came as a pleasant surprise.

"Running down the vault runway (in practice), we weren't sure," said Thomas, adding that her teammates or coaches didn't pressure her either way.

But the reigning NCAA all-around champion knows her body best. And she felt she was good to go.

Thomas would notch a 9.90 from vault, tying for third place.

Following the session, Thomas was asked if she would be competing in any other events on Saturday.

"I honestly don't know at this point in time," Thomas laughed. "I'll keep ya updated."

Rocky trip to the balance beam puts Florida in danger

After posting a 49.4875 on the uneven bars during their first rotation, the Gators sat in first place with California on their heels.

However, a turbulent time on the balance beam would result in the Gators free falling to last place.

Florida senior Payton Richards would post an uncharacteristic 9.2750 on the balance beam, which forced the Gators to count Riley McCusker's score of 9.6125.

Gators sophomore Sloane Blakely, who was coming off a fall on the uneven bars, took to the balance beam with redemption on her mind and posted a team-high 9.9375, which tied as the session's second-best.

Florida freshman Kayla DiCello would also come away with a solid score of 9.9250.

However, Blakely and DiCello's performances weren't able to prevent the Gators from falling into dangerous territory.

Florida takes the floor by storm

While Florida struggled on the balance beam, LSU and California prospered on floor and vault, respectively, putting the pressure on the Gators as they approached the the floor for their third rotation.

Fortunately for Florida, it looked as though the Gators were built to have their backs against the wall.

Florida junior Victoria Nguyen opened the Gators' floor pass with 9.900, which served as a sparkplug for the gutsy Gators.

Blakely and graduate transfer Rachel Baumann followed Nguyen's routine with a 9.8500 and 9.8375, which set the stage for Richards to bounce back from her iffy beam pass.

Richards went on to post a 9.9250 from the floor, which was a NCAA championships high for the senior, who is still mulling over returning for her fifth season.

Wong and DiCello anchored Florida's floor rotation, scoring a 9.9625 and 9.8875, respectively.

Wong's mark tied LSU's Aleah Finnegan for the top mark from the floor. But more importantly, Wong and the Gators' trip to the floor boosted Florida back to the top spot.

Gators clinch spot in the finals after vault

With momentum favoring them, the Gators looked for a solid vault performance to keep them out front.

Leading Florida's charge was Thomas with her 9.90 mark, which tied for third. Behind Thomas, was a trio of Gators in Wong, Richards and Nguyen, who all posted scores of 9.8625.

The Gators combined for a team score of 49.30, which wasn't enough to hold onto first place as LSU worked its way back out front with nice showing from the uneven bars.

Gators turn their eyes to Saturday night

Following Thursday afternoon's performance, the Gators punched their ticket to the NCAA Finals, where they're slated to meet No. 6 LSU and the top two finishing teams from Thursday night's session, which featured No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Utah, No. 5 UCLA and No. 7 Kentucky.

"I came back for this team," Thomas said of returning for her fifth year. "We are so special. I hope you can feel that, even from the outside. We honestly just need to go out there on Saturday and be us. Simply be us."

Saturday's action is slated for 4 p.m. and can be watched on ABC.

If you were to ask any Florida gymnastics fan what their worst nightmare is, many would likely say an injury to senior all-arounder Trinity Thomas.

Unfortunately for the second-ranked Gators and their fans, that seemed to be the case Friday night at the NCAA Pittsburgh Regional as Thomas abruptly ended her floor routine before walking off with Florida's athletic trainer Janet Clark, visibly upset.

Thomas, who had already posted a 9.90 on beam during the meet's first rotation, came out of her double layout and continued through the next few steps of her number before doubling over with her hands on her knees.

Once Thomas' routine music was paused, those in attendance also fell silent as Thomas was helped off the floor by Clark and was briefly visited by head coach Jenny Rowland. Approximately 20 minutes later, Thomas emerged from the locker room and rejoined her teammates without any visible supports or tape. However, Thomas didn't return to competition Friday night.

Florida later revealed that Thomas suffered a right lower leg injury and she is listed as day-to-day.

Despite being without Thomas for the latter half of the night, the Gators were still able to cruise to the Regional Final after posting a score of 197.875. Florida topped Arizona State (197.525), Penn State (196.825) and Maryland (196.675).

"I really don't know what to say," Rowland said afterward. "There comes a time when our athletes have to trust what's going on and we're really grateful and thankful that she didn't try to be a superhero and continue and finish and actually stopped."

Gymnasts listening to their body is something Thomas preaches on often.

In fact, just before she and the Gators left for Pittsburgh, Thomas mentioned that it was one of the aspects that made Florida's team so successful in the postseason.

"This team has done a really good job of taking care of themselves in and outside the gym and speaking up when we need to back off a little bit or push a little bit harder," Thomas said. "We just have a very wise team, an older team and so we know what's best."

Thomas, who hails from York, Penn., was excited to return to her home state and compete in front of a large entourage of family and friends.

"Before going into SECs, it wasn't like we we're going to go to Pittsburgh," Thomas said. "So to be able to move up into second again and get Pittsburgh as a regional, it feels like it was pretty much fate, huh?"

Florida freshman Kayla DiCello, who won this year's SEC Freshman of the Year award, led the way for the Thomas-less Gators, posting an all-around score of 39.800. DiCello's best mark of the night came on the uneven bars, where she notched a perfect 10.

DiCello also won the vault with a 9.950, while sophomore Leanne Wong took the floor title with a 9.975. "Super proud how the team handled that and how they reacted," Rowland said. "They remained calm and continued on."

Following Friday night's meet, the Gators pair up with Arizona State, California and Michigan State in Sunday's region final. From there, the two top teams advance to the NCAA Championships on April 14 and 15 in Fort Worth.