AUBURN, Ala. – After five years of consistent excellence, Derrian Gobourne's Auburn gymnastics career concludes Thursday evening with one final floor routine.
Ninety seconds, three tumbling passes, one crown.
A finale fit for a queen.
"I'm going to do what I came here to do," said Gobourne, who will compete in the first event at the NCAA Championships in Fort Worth, Texas, hoping to end her career as it began, with a national championship.
As a freshman in 2019, Gobourne shared the NCAA vault title, the first for an Auburn gymnast. Three years later, she led the Tigers to the program's first Final Four.
"When I first went to nationals by myself, I was so scared," Gobourne recalled. "Going into this nationals, I know that I can win. Whether I win or get third, I'm just as good as everyone there and all I can do is my best."
"It's a great, full circle to her career," Auburn coach Jeff Graba said.
As she did in 2019, Gobourne will compete as an individual.
"I'm excited to show who I am," Gobourne said. "I won't have my girls with me but I'm excited to show what I can do. I'm ready for this one last push and I'm ready to leave this program better than I found it."
"She's done that by a long shot," Graba said of Gobourne's legacy. "We need to go celebrate a great career. We need to celebrate that she came to Auburn and moved us up the map. Now, people expect us to be great and she's a big part of the reason they expect us to be great."
Gobourne competed her floor routine in 12 meets this season, scoring a 9.975 to help Auburn beat LSU on Feb. 10. For each routine the public sees, there are countless practice reps, both physical and mental in which Gobourne visualizes each element.
"It's muscle memory and letting it happen," she said. "That's when I do my best gymnastics, when I allow everything in me to shine."
Returning for her fifth season, Gobourne earned All-America honors with a 9.94 National Qualifying Score on floor and was named SEC Specialist of the Year for the third consecutive year.
"I pushed through because I know we all worked so hard," said Gobourne, who expressed appreciation for how Graba encouraged Derrian to be herself, in and out of the gym.
"He never tried to change me or mold me into something I wasn't," Gobourne said. "I'll always remember that. He allowed me to be this big, bold personality and I'm grateful."
Gobourne delivered in royal fashion, leading her teammates, growing Auburn's gymnastics program and serving as a role model.
"It allowed me to shine," she said. "It allowed me to be something bigger than gymnastics. I don't go out there to just be the best. I want to connect, I want to inspire."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer