CAREER BESTS
Event | Score | Date | Site/Opponent |
Floor Exercise | 15.725 | 4/11/15 | NCAA Individual Finals |
Vault |
15.050 | 3/27/15 | Big Ten Team Championships |
High Bar | 14.150 | 3/15/15 | at Nebraska |
2015 (Freshman Year)
Competed on the floor exercise, high bar and the vault during his freshman season ... Won five floor exercise titles during 2015 ... Won the floor exercise title against Iowa with a 15.700 (2/27) ... Finished fourth overall on the floor exercise at the Big Ten Championships with his score of 15.000 (2/28) ... Tied for fourth on the vault in the team finals at the Big Ten Championships with his career-best 15.050 (3/27) ... Placed ninth on the vault in the individual finals at the Big Ten Championships with his score of 14.775 (3/38) .... Posted a career-best 14.150 on the high bar at the Nebraska Quad as he tied for ninth (3/15) ... Competed at the NCAA Championships on the floor exercise, high bar and the vault ... Lawson tied for the 11th on the vault at the NCAA Team Finals with his score of 14.950 (4/10) ... Posted the top score on the floor score (15.700) at the NCAA Team Finals (4/10) ... Won the NCAA Championship on the floor exercise with a career-best 15.725 (4/11) ... All-American ... He is the 53rd NCAA Champion for the Nittany Lions ... Becomes the second Nittany Lion freshman to win the NCAA title on the floor exercise (Trevor Howard -- 2013) ... Fourth Nittany Lion to win the floor exercise NCAA title in school history ... Owns two of the top-10 performances in school history on the floor exercise (5th and 6th) ... Three-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week
Gymnastics Background
Trained at Gymstrada Gymnastics ... 2014 Virginia state champion in the floor, high bar and the vault ... 2009 state and regional champion in the floor, high bar and the parallel bar ... 2014 captain and MVP of his high school team ... Named all-state in the floor, high bar and the vault (2014) ... Third-place in the floor event at the 2009 Junior Olympics.
Personal
Full name is Joseph Thaddeus Lawson ... Born in Virginia Beach, Va., on April 12, 1995 ... Son of Joe and Katharine Lawson ... Has two older sisters and a younger brother.