McCaleigh Marr continues Penn’s record-setting gymnastics season at NCAA regional
The junior is is Penn’s first NCAA qualifier since 2018. “I never really imagined that this was something that was possible,” Marr says.
Penn gymnastics has been breaking records all season, and junior McCaleigh Marr has been a key contributor.
Marr’s scores on the balance beam earned her a spot at the NCAA East Regionals this week in Norman, Okla. She is Penn’s first NCAA qualifier since 2018. The top 16 individual specialists from each event were invited to the regionals based on national qualifying scores. Competition began Wednesday and runs through Saturday with the regional final. Marr is scheduled to compete Thursday night.
“I never really imagined that this was something that was possible,” Marr said. “When I did ultimately find out that I qualified, having my teammates there, right next to me while I watched on the screen where I was getting placed, [it was] super cool and really rewarding.”
After almost two years off from competition, Marr and her teammates returned to the mat in 2022 in a new conference, under the guidance of a new coach, Kristen Becker. Marr was also returning from surgery over the summer.
“To come back and compete at such a high level after undergoing that, and having to return and kind of work through all of the different challenges that come there ... ” Becker said. “She’s very deserving, and I think is an awesome representative of our team. It’s nice for her fellow gymnasts to see that this is within reach.”
Marr qualified for the NCAAs after the Gymnastics East Conference Championships on March 19, the last meet of Penn’s season. The Quakers posted a team score of 196.950, which won the inaugural GEC title and set a program record.
Penn had already set records twice this season, against Towson on Feb. 13 with 195.375, and again at Maryland on March 13 with 196.225.
Marr helped Penn to the GEC crown with a 9.950 on the beam at the championships, which matches the program record for highest score in the event, a record she already co-owned entering the meet.
For Marr, the scores of 9.950 represent how close she is to achieving her ultimate goal of scoring a perfect 10.
“I want to perform a perfect routine that the judge has no choice but to give it a 10,” Marr said. “Getting that 9.950 and getting so close really made me realize at this point, it’s no longer about the gymnastics. It’s more about the mental piece of it. And really working on that mental game has been something that I’ve been working on a lot this season.”
One of Marr’s loudest supporters is her fellow Penn gymnast and younger sister, sophomore Campbell Marr.
“It makes me nervous just because I want her to do her best, but I like to watch her [on the beam]. She’s so beautiful up there,” Campbell said.
The Newtown Square natives spent only one year competing apart, when McCaleigh was a freshman at Penn and Campbell was a senior at The Baldwin School.
“After I get done with my routine or she gets done with her routine, we just always give each other a big hug,” Campbell said. “No one’s going to be more happy for you than your sister is. And then also, if you don’t have your best routine, it’s nice to know there’s someone who’s always going to stand by you, no matter what.”
McCaleigh and Campbell both compete in the balance beam, which fosters a sense of healthy competition.
“When she does a really good routine, it pushes me to want to do an even better one if I can,” Campbell said. “But then also, she has been here for a year longer than I have. So I look to her for advice on kind of how to handle the pressure of competition.”
Those around McCaleigh and Campbell notice the closeness of their relationship.
“They are some of the most supportive sisters that I’ve ever met,” Becker said. “When it comes to supporting their sisters unconditionally and having that unconditional love for one another, it’s been awesome to see them go out there.”
McCaleigh’s consistency this season helped earn her the spot at regionals, and it’s what her coaches expect to see from her on the beam on Thursday.
“I just want her to showcase the routines that we see every day in practice,” Becker said. “Obviously that’s the goal — let’s match our career-high. I would love that for her. But I think I just want her to go out there, enjoy the moment, and just do what she does every day in practice.”