COLUMBIA − Amari Celestine is a force on the floor. She has been a part of Mizzou Gymnastics all four years of her college career.

She has been involved with gymnastics since she was a toddler.

“I really don’t consider myself good at any other sport,” Celestine said. “Gymnastics has always just been innate to me its just been natural.”

Celestine’s ultimate goal that drove her was getting to college. Now, after helping her team place third at the NCAA Championship final, Celestine will graduate on Saturday.

Celestine helped her team score the highest floor score in Mizzou Gymnastics program history. She has scored 9.900 or higher on floor in 10 of 16 meets this season. She recorded five-straight scores of 9.900+ on bars. 

After Mizzou gymnastics earned a third place finish at the NCAA Championship final, Amari talked about the doubters that did not think the team would make it that far. She is a crucial part of uplift to the team, and was determined to leave a mark at Mizzou.

“We can’t let what they feel about us define our efforts,” Celestine said. “We want to say, okay, well this is gonna be the sweetest ‘I told you so’ in the world. Like, you’re gonna see, you’re gonna learn, so I think that’s been really helpful,” Celestine said.

Since being at Mizzou, Amari has earned a handful of awards, earning WCGA Vault Floor First Team All-American in 2022, WCGA All-Around Second Team All-American and WCGA South Central Regional Gymnast of the Year this year. She was also named the 2025 NCAA Seattle Regional Outright Vault Champion.

Celestine has been on the All-SEC team four times. She is only one of two Mizzou gymnasts to earn four All-American honors in four years.

With being on the team for four years, Celestine serves as a leader and a player her teammates can count on. “If I could describe Amari in one word, it would be inspiring,” fellow Mizzou gymnast, Kennedy Griffin, said. 

Griffin is a sophomore gymnast who has been under Celestine’s wing. She said she appreciates how Amari genuinely cares for her and her team as teammates and as people outside of the sport.

“She is someone I can come to with something even outside of gymnastics, like helping me apply to an internship that I’m currently doing,” Griffin said.

Post graduation, Amari will be an intern at Rich Paul’s sports agency in Los Angeles, Klutch Sports Agency. She will also be a graduate assistant in southern Alabama this coming fall.  

College football coaches are all about evaluating talent.

Now, we want you to flip the script and evaluate a couple of former coaches when it comes to their golf swing.

Who has the better swing: Nick Saban or Tommy Tuberville?

Both were in action this week at the Regions Tradition Celebrity Pro-Am golf tournament at Greystone in Hoover.

And, just for fun, we’ll throw in a couple of pretty prominent folks for your consideration.

In addition to the former Alabama and Auburn coaches, consider Auburn football great Bo Jackson, Auburn basketball legend Charles Barkley, Auburn coach Hugh Freeze, Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, former Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron and Georgia coach Kirby Smart.

Like being a member of the College Football Playoff committee, your evaluation is completely subjective.

There was plenty opinions and interactions among the high-profile ball strikers Wednesday.

Barkley and DeBoer shared some pleasantries.

Meanwhile, DeBoer couldn’t dodge the ever-lingering question about the Crimson Tide quarterback battle.

Barkley, on the other hand, is a huge fan of Birmingham, went after the NCAA and NIL, then revealed his go-to playlist and how much weight he has lost.

Saban, of course, talked about his new appointment to President Donald Trump’s sports commission.

Plenty to sink your teeth into, but what about those swings?

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.

Renata Engel has been named interim vice president for Commonwealth campuses and executive chancellor of the Commonwealth campuses, effective May 19. 

Formerly the Vice Provost for Online Education, Engel will be filling the role previously left by Margo DelliCarpini, who had moved on to pursue a career at The College of New Jersey. Karen Pollack will fill Engel’s former position.

Engel’s previously held Associate Vice Provost for Online Programs, Associate Dean for Academic Programs in the College of Engineering and Director for the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at Penn State.

“I know this is a time of great change for our Commonwealth Campus communities as the University’s leadership team and Board of Trustees consider changes that will position Penn State for success long into the future,” Engel said in a Penn State press release.

Engel was an undergraduate student at a commonwealth campus herself, and started her bachelor’s degree in engineering science at Penn State Fayette, and later graduated from the University Park campus. Engel then went on to complete a doctorate in engineering mechanics from the University of South Florida.

She was a part of the launch of the Penn State World Campus Chaiken Center for Student Success, which works to “ support resources that have been developed for World Campus students” and bring together academic advising services, according to the release.

“I have always thought that we are at our best as a University when we work together to develop innovative solutions to solve our challenges,” Engel said. “That is why I approach every decision or recommendation with the breadth and comprehensiveness of this university in mind.”

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