Michele Bryant Season 1986-87

• 1990 NCAA Vault Champion<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>
• Three-Time First-Team All-American (1989: UB, 1990: V, UB)
• Four-Time Big Eight Champion
• Four-Time All-Big Eight
• Nebraska’s 25 Women of Distinction

Michele Bryant will forever hold one distinction that no other Husker female gymnast can claim ?Nebraska’s first female NCAA gymnastics champion.

A native of Blue Springs, Mo., Bryant became the first female gymnast in school history to win a national title, capturing the NCAA vault championship with a score of 9.85 at the 1990 NCAA Championships in Corvallis, Ore. Bryant’s vault score also set a Nebraska school record held until 1994.

Bryant’s NCAA championship capped an impressive Husker career that saw her earn three first-team All-America honors and four Big Eight Championships.

A four-time all-conference selection, she led Nebraska to a 59-20 regular-season record and four Big Eight championships during her collegiate career. It was the first time a gymnastics team had won four straight conference titles in Big Eight history.

At the national level, the Huskers also qualified for the NCAA Championships all four years she competed, the first time in school history the Huskers qualified for nationals in four straight years, while guiding the Huskers to a pair of top-five finishes. As a junior, Bryant earned first-team All-America honors on uneven bars, as the Huskers finished fourth, their best finish in school history. In addition to her vault titles, she placed sixth on uneven bars, becoming the first Husker gymnast to earn All-America honors in consecutive seasons, as the Huskers finished fifth at the 1990 NCAA Championships.

The first three-time All-America gymnast in school history, Bryant shared the Big Eight all-around title with fellow Husker Lisa McCrady in 1989 with a score of 38.90, while winning the balance beam title as a junior and the vault title as a senior. She finished her career as Nebraska’s school record holder in the all-around (39.00) and vault (9.85).

Bryant’s contributions to Husker athletics were recognized with her selection as one of Nebraska’s 25 Women of Distinction during the Athletic Department’s 25-year celebration in April of 2000. Bryant married John McJunkins in 2005 and has a son, Austin, a stepdaughter, Johnna and a stepson, Jaryd. She works as an accountant in Benton, Ark.