Fisk University gymnast wins national title
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — It’s been a banner year for Fisk University Athletics, specifically the school’s gymnastics team – history makers again for the second time in two years.
Fisk University in 2022 became the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) to start a gymnastics team. Now, it’s the home of a collegiate national champion, Morgan Price.
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“I feel like what we’re doing, people are not forgetting about us,” Morgan said. “I feel super honored, super excited, super blessed. I love being an HBCU gymnast. I love the school, the culture.”
On Friday, April 12, Morgan competed in the USA Gymnastics Association Women’s Collegiate National Championship, winning the All-Around competition. Her efforts earned her a first team All-American honor. It’s a historic victory that makes the Lebanon native the first gymnast from a HBCU to hold the title.
“I was just super excited; I honestly did not know that I was going to win,” said Morgan. “I just knew that all my hard work had paid off.”
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Morgan, who also holds the highest beam score of any HBCU gymnast, is part of a newly formed program taking the sport by storm with a history maker at its helm: Head Coach Corrinne Tarver, the first black gymnast to compete for the University of Georgia.
“It’s a blueprint that hasn’t been written before. When I took over, I wanted to make sure we were able to bring the HBCU experience into our program,” said Tarver. “Fisk put gymnastics on the map; it definitely put gymnastics on the map because gymnastics was considered a white sport.”
At a press conference Wednesday, April 17, Morgan was surrounded by friends and family to celebrate the win. Her loved ones told News 2 the victory signifies much more.
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“It’s huge because growing up, Morgan had very few gymnasts that looked like her and her sisters, and she never had a black coach, and she is just setting the road for other Brown and Black girls to compete in this sport,” said Rochelle Price, Morgan’s grandmother.
As her name goes down in the history books, Morgan said the passion that got her to where she is and the drive to show representation in a sport that has lacked diversity will continue to push her toward success.
“That’s one of the reasons why I decided to go to a HBCU. I love coaching younger girls; I love inspiring younger generations, so I feel that what I’ve done and what I will continue to do will inspire the younger generations to know they can do anything that they put their mind to,” she said.
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