FORT WORTH - Kiya Johnson has been one of the biggest names in LSU gymnastics over the past few years. She's known for her difficult skills, big scores and infectious smile. 

Johnson has been one of LSU's most reliable weapons as an All-American and former SEC Freshman of the Year, but her road has not been easy.

In her fourth year with the program, Kiya tore her achilles during the second week of the season and was sidelined for the rest of the year. 

"The recovery process was definitely long and pretty difficult at times, but again my goal was to just to get back to contributing in any way that I could for my team. I didn't really know what that would look like in the beginning of the year," Johnson said.

Now, Johnson is back to competing and averages 9.95 on floor exercise in the team's anchor spot and is competing on the biggest stage in college gymnastics in the All Around competition.

Johnson is a Dallas native, so she will get to end her collegiate career on the national stage.

"Having an ending to my career in the place that I grew up I think is going to be really fun, and I also have some old teammates that I'll get to see, so it's kind of like a homecoming or a hometown reunion that I'm really excited for, but I'm also going to keep my focus on the team and the job at hand," Johnson said.

LSU will compete in the national semi finals Thursday at 3:30 p.m.

If they are one of the top two teams by the end of the meet, they will advance to the finals on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. on WBRZ.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - LSU Gymnastics has advanced to the NCAA National Semi Finals by winning the Fayetteville Regional with a final score of 198.250.

The Tigers were headlined by Konnor McClain's 9.95 on balance beam as well as Aleah Finnegan's 9.95 on floor exercise.

However, senior Haleigh Bryant stole the show in the second half of the meet with two perfect 10 scores for her vault and uneven bars routines.

The top two teams in the regional advance to nationals and LSU and Arkansas came out on top. This is the fourth time in five years LSU has advanced to nationals and the second year in a row.

Last season, the Tigers placed fourth in the nation at the NCAA national championship meet, and this year they are looking to win their first ever team national championship.

LSU will compete at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, in the semi finals on April 18.

If they advance, they will compete in the finals on April 20 at 3 p.m.