Gymnastics Adds Steele and Hyderally As Assistant Coaches

PHILADELPHIA - Temple gymnastics head coach Josh Nilson announced the hiring of Hilary Steele and Sophia Hyderally on Saturday as the newest members to the Owls' coaching staff.

Hilary Steele
Hilary (Mauro) Steele joins the Owls having competed with the Georgia Bulldogs from 2007 to 2011, where she was a two-time NCAA Champion in 2008 and 2009. In addition to her team national championships, she was a 2008 team SEC Champion, 2008 individual All-SEC Freshman Team Honoree, 2008 NCAA Balance Beam All-American and was the 2011 SEC Vault Champion. Steele went on to become a volunteer assistant coach for the Bulldogs in 2011-12 upon graduation.

"Hilary stood out to me from the beginning of the process. Her success as an athlete and as a coach gives her incredible perspective and experience. She has coached and competed successfully at the highest level of NCAA gymnastics and has competed at the international elite level," expressed Nilson. "She is focused and driven...and she shares the core values of Temple Gymnastics. She is going to be a great asset to the Temple Gymnastics program."

Before her time as a collegiate athlete, Steele was a USA Gymnastics National Team Member from 2005 to 2007. Steele competed internationally earning a silver medal on balance beam at the World Cup in Ghent Belgium, a silver medal on Floor Exercise in Ireland, and a silver medal on floor at the Houston International Invitational. Steele was an alternate for the 2006 Team USA World Championship Team where she trained under Mary Lee Tracy.

After college, Steele added to her coaching and competition experience, entering the Crossfit world as a coach and competitive athlete during her five years living in Hawaii. Her gymnastics background proved a solid foundation as she became a five-time Crossfit Games Regional Competitor from 2015 to 2019, and was recognized as the top 1% of worldwide Crossfit competitors. While competing, she was twice named Fittest Athlete in Hawaii in 2017 and 2018 and Fittest in Delaware in 2019. During her time Hawaii, Steele rose from Optional Coach to the Director of Coaching and Head Coach of Kokokahi Gymnastics in Kaneohe, Hawaii. Steele rebuilt the Kokokahi program and had gotten an athlete signed to a college gymnastics program, the first in over seven years at the time.

Following a move stateside, Steele became the 2021-22 volunteer coach at the University of Maryland. With the guidance of the coaching of the Steele and the Terps staff, the 2022 GymTerps delivered one of the most successful seasons in Maryland Gymnastics history, scoring the second all-time team-high score of 197.175 in addition to holding four of the five highest team-scores in program history. The GymTerps rose to a No. 20 national ranking in the Division I NQS (National Qualifying Score) Poll. The program earned its first All-American in nine years, set five class records on three different events, and 11 career records. While coaching in College Park, Steele was also an Optional Coach at Hill's Gymnastics Training Center in Maryland that is known for training some of the best gymnasts on the east coast that compete at the Developmental Program National Championships, U.S. National Championships, World Championships, and the Olympics.

Steele has been married since 2015 to an Air Force Pilot she met during her time at the University of Georgia. They have a Portuguese Water Dog, Golden Retriever and are welcoming a baby girl to the family in November 2022.

Sophia Hyderally
Sophia Hyderally joins the Nilson's Owls staff after completing two seasons at the University of Nebraska as a volunteer assistant coach (2021-22) and an outstanding career at the University of Alaska-Anchorage from 2017-20. Hyderally graduated from UAA with a degree in international studies and sociology. She also finished a four-year collegiate gymnastics career with the Seawolves, where she qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships on beam in 2019.

"Sophia comes to us after volunteering at University of Nebraska for the last two seasons. She is originally from Alabama, but was a standout gymnast for at the University of Alaska at Anchorage! Sophia is well known for her skilled choreography", said by a excited Nilson. "She is going to carry on the legacy of entertaining and unique floor routines at Temple. Sophia is full of energy! I expect her to have a very large positive impact on the team."

In 2019, Hyderally delivered one of the top individual seasons in program history. The then-junior broke six school records, earned First Team All-MPSF honors on beam and floor, her second MBSF beam title in three seasons with a 9.9, a team-high eight event titles, and qualified for the NCAA Corvallis Regional on beam. There she tied for fourth among 56 gymnasts, losing a tiebreaker to advance to the NCAA Championships, but still setting UAA records for highest score and placement at regionals. Hyderally became the first Seawolf to lead the conference in NQS, with a 9.875 mark on balance beam tying for 44th nationally. The Alabama native also set the UAA record with a 9.798 average on the floor and aided the team to a school-record 194.200 performance at MPSF Championships.

To follow up her successful sophomore season, Hyderally went on to earn First Team All-MPSF honors on bars and beam in 2020 with seven event wins while breaking UAA's program record with 9.795 NQS on bars and just missing her own record with a 9.840 NQS on beam. During the CoVid19 shortened season, Hyderally recorded a 9.9 or better beam for the sixth time in her career. Hyderally was poised to reach the NCAA Regional Championships for a second straight season on beam before the cancellation of the season. In all, the Daphne, Ala. native became just the third Seawolf to reach the 9.9 plateau on uneven bars, with a 9.9 against San Jose State on Jan. 18 and scored 9.7 or better on eight of 10 bars routines, helping the Seawolves break program season records for both average and NQS. In addition, she aided the seventh-best team score (193.525) in program history with a 9.825 floor routine in the season finale at Denver.

As a volunteer assistant in Lincoln the over the last two seasons, Hyderally coached three Huskers to All-Big Ten honors and along with eight gymnasts to the NCAA Regionals

Kynsee Roby and Anna Dujakovich earned All-Big Ten honors in 2021. Roby collected a First Team All-Big Ten selection after a consistent season where she finished the regular season No. 5 in the conference and No. 20 on balance beam with a national qualifying score (NQS) of 9.919 and a season high of 9.95. She was 12th-highest ranked gymnast in the Big Ten on uneven bars with an NQS of 9.881 and a season high of 9.925. Dujakovich also picked an All-Big Ten honor in senior season as she broke or tied career-highs on vault and floor exercise, and consistently turned in impressive scores. She recorded a score of 9.80 or higher on seven of nine vaults performed on the season, including three scores of 9.9 or higher and a tied career-high of 9.95. This past season, Kinsey Davis picked up First Team Big Ten honors as she claimed one event title on the vault with a NQS of 9.860. On bars, Davis earned a NQS of 9.875, claiming three event titles and notched a personal best of 9.975. In addition, she held a 9.865 NQS and a personal record of 9.925 on the balance beam and earned two titles on the apparatus.

Hyderally saw Anna Dujakovich, Kaitlyn Higgins, Kathryn Thaler, Kylie Piringer, Kynsee Roby, and Kinsey Davis earn their way to the NCAA Athens Regional in 2021, while Davis and Clara Columbo earned invitations to the Seattle Regional in 2022.

For complete coverage of Temple gymnastics, follow the Owls on social media @TUWG (Twitter), facebook.com/ TempleWGymnastics (Facebook), @templegymnastics (Instagram), or visit the official home of Temple University Athletics at owlsports.com and on TikTok @templeowls.

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Gymnastics Adds Steele and Hyderally As Assistant Coaches

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