TIFTON — Tift County Gym Devil Elyssa Roberts is going north.

She signed to compete for the University of Kentucky Monday afternoon at Tift County High School’s media center.

Athletic director Rusty Smith called Roberts’ signing “a great day for Tift County athletics.”

Mom, Jodi Roberts, who was her head coach at Tift for three seasons, said she was “so proud of Elyssa” and “so excited for the next chapter.” Erica Tucker, who became head coach for the 2019 season chimed in how proud she was of Roberts.

Roberts competed in the state tournament all four years in high school. She finished third in the all-around as a junior.

In addition to her high school feats, Roberts has been a longtime competitor for Tift Gymnastics Academy. Her head coach there, Ben Ledl, also spoke at the signing ceremony.

Ledl praised her discipline. “It boils down to dedication,” he said.

“I’m super proud of her for sticking it out.”

Roberts is a Level 10 gymnast. Since January, she has had two top five all-around finishes at TGA events. At a USA Gymnastics Region 8 regional event in April, Roberts was 10th in the all-around and had a ninth place finish on balance beam. More than 500 gymnasts competed at the event.

At Kentucky, Roberts will join a program that finished 9-14 in 2019. The Wildcats advanced to the NCAA regionals. During the regular season, their wins included an upset of then-No. 5 LSU.

Roberts becomes the second Tift gymnast in recent years to join a Southeastern Conference school. Her older sister, Beth Roberts, competed for the University of Georgia.