CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
· Rachel Inniss enters her fifth year on staff at Penn State after joining the program as an assistant coach in October 2020. She arrived in Happy Valley after spending two years as an assistant coach at Temple.
· Inniss enters the 2025 season following an outstanding campaign in which she and her fellow Penn State assistant coaches earned North East Region Assistant Coaching Staff of the Year recognition from the WCGA for their work with the Nittany Lions in 2024.
AT PENN STATE
· Inniss’ floor squad continued to show marked improvement in 2024, with five Nittany Lions earning 9.9+ totals on the apparatus through the course of the season. Inniss’ floor group set the No. 6 floor exercise mark in school history with a 49.450 at NC State, Penn State’s second-best total on the event since 2001.
· Under Inniss’ guidance, the tandem of Amani Herring and Isabella Salcedo became the first Nittany Lion duo to post 9.95 scores on the floor exercise in the same meet since Gemma Cuff, Leslie Bair, and Richelle Simpson did so in 2001 when they both earned 9.95 totals on the apparatus against Minnesota on Feb. 3.
· Herring went on to post four 9.95 floor scores in 2024 under Inniss’ coaching, becoming the first Nittany Lion to achieve three-or-more 9.95+ floor totals in the same season since Penn State legend Brandi Personnett did so in 2010.
· At the Big Ten Championships under the watchful eye of Inniss, both Herring and Salcedo posted 9.9s on floor, marks good enough for Big Ten All-Championships Team recognition.
· Inniss’ group earned shares of nine floor titles in 2024, with Salcedo leading the way with five victories through the course of 15-meet season.
· Following the 2024 season, Inniss, along with fellow assistant coaches Ralph Rosso and Lynnzee Brown, were named the North East Region Assistant Coaching Staff of the Year by the WCGA.
· In 2023, Inniss coached the Nittany Lions’ floor group to the third-best total on the event in school history at regional competition with a 49.350. The total was the team’s highest on any event at regionals, propelling the Nittany Lions to a regional program record 196.825 total score. Ava Piedrahita, Isabella Salcedo, and Jessica Johanson eached scored 9.9s on the event, capping off a solid season with a dominant showing at regionals.
· Penn State finished with a 49.100 NQS on floor in 2023, concluding the campaign with a strong stretch through the NCAA Regional Championships.
· Inniss mentored the 2022 Nittany Lions floor squad to a 49.285 NQS, which was good for second in the region, trailing only Michigan. Coached by Inniss, freshman Isabella Salcedo posted eight 9.9 scores on the floor exercise throughout the season, including her performance at the NCAA Regional Championships. Fellow freshman Elina Vihrova (9.900) and Lauren Bridgens (9.925) also scored 9.9 or above in the floor exercise during the 2022 season under Inniss’ guidance.
· In 2021, her first season at Penn State, Inniss made a strong impact on the Penn State floor team. With Inniss’ coaching, the Nittany Lions ranked third in the North East region on floor with a NQS of 49.088. Melissa Astarita ascended to fourth in the region on floor. The junior opened the season with eight consecutive meets with a score of at least 9.8. Allissa Bonsall (11) and Cassidy Rushlow (15) also ranked in the top 15 in the region. Astarita’s success carried to the national stage, as she was an individual NCAA Regional qualifier.
BEFORE PENN STATE
· As an assistant coach at Temple, Inniss helped the Owls to consecutive ECAC championships. Temple finished the 2020 season with the conference’s highest NQS.
· Inniss led Temple’s beam and floor teams, helping the floor group lead the conference. The beam squad ranked second in the ECAC. The Owls earned the program’s second-highest beam score and fifth-highest floor score in 2020, helping Temple to post three of the top six overall scores in program history.
· The Owls placed three athletes among the top ten beam performers in the ECAC, including Delaney Garin’s conference-leading 9.815 NQS. Temple also had three of the top ten floor athletes in the ECAC. Ariana Castrence paced the conference with a 9.825 NQS.
· In 2019, Inniss earned ECAC Assistant Coach of the Year honors after guiding the Owls to their first ever ECAC title. Temple led the conference with a 194.865 overall NQS and a 48.990 NQS on floor. India Anderson claimed the ECAC’s top floor NQS, 9.870, while Monica Servidio led the conference on beam with a 9.850 NQS.
· Inniss graduated from Auburn in 2012, with a degree in public administration. As a student-athlete, she won an NCAA Regional Floor title and qualified for the NCAA Championships for the Tigers in 2010.
· She served as a student coach during her fifth year at Auburn and returned as a volunteer coach in 2017 and 2018. As a volunteer coach, she worked with beam and floor, directing the choreography for both. She coached two floor All-Americans and three All-SEC gymnasts.
· Inniss returned to coaching after being a professional dancer at Walt Disney World for four years at Beauty and the Beast Live.
COACHING HONORS
· 2024 WCGA North East Region Assistant Coaching Staff of the Year honoree
· 2019 ECAC Assistant Coach of the Year
THE RACHEL INNISS FILE
Personal
Year at Penn State: Fifth
Hometown: Rio Rancho, N.M.
Education: Auburn, 2012 – B.A. in Public Administration
Family: Daughter: Charlotte
Coaching Timeline
2020-Present – Penn State (Assistant Coach)
2018-20 – Temple (Assistant Coach)
2016-18 – Auburn (Volunteer Assistant Coach)