UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Women’s gymnastics senior Isabella Salcedo was named a nominee for the 2025 AAI Award, the organization announced recently. The award is presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding senior.
Salcedo is one of 59 nominees for this year’s award.
The Arlington, Texas, native has etched her name into the Penn State record books over the years as one of the program’s top scoring performers of all time on balance beam and floor exercise. With career-bests of 9.95 on both of her top events, Salcedo has been a de facto leader of Penn State’s lineups whenever she competes.
This season, Salcedo has hit every single routine she has competed, securing a 9.7-plus in all eight routines across her three events. She has season highs of 9.875 on vault and floor, plus a 9.85 on beam as a flamboyant presence in the Nittany Lion lineups. At the Big 4 meet on Sunday, Salcedo delivered a career-high-tying 9.875 in her season debut on vault as her team’s anchor on the final rotation of the night, solidifying herself as a deserving candidate for this year’s AAI Award.
Salcedo owns Penn State’s regional program record as its only athlete ever to record a 9.925 on balance beam in NCAA Regional competition, doing so in the Ann Arbor Regional Final in 2024. She is also a Big Ten All-Championships team honoree thanks to her 9.9 tally on floor exercise in the 2024 conference championship meet. As a student, Isabella is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, a WCGA Scholastic All-American, and a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.
Penn State, led by Head Coach Sarah Brown, is set to continue its 2025 slate with a tri-meet at George Washington (with Clemson) on Sunday, March 9 at 1 p.m.