The Alabama gymnastics season ended disappointingly Thursday, and one Alabama gymnast’s career officially ended too. Although she hasn’t competed since February, Makarri Doggette had an undeniable leadership role on this 2024 gymnastics squad.
For the 2024 season, the Alabama gymnastics motto was “For the Fam” and Doggette perfectly embodied that after the injury that ended her season and college career during her vault warmup against Georgia.
“Because no matter what else comes our way this season, the bond of this family can never be broken, no matter what tries to pull us apart,” Doggette said. “Because it’s always been for the fam. And it always will be.”
In a letter to Alabama fans, Doggette wrote about what was going through her head when she got injured in the middle of her fifth season wearing the script A.
“I knew it was serious, I knew my night was done, but with all the adrenaline of the meet literally about to start, the concept of my career as an Alabama gymnast now being over was not something that, honestly, I wanted to accept or think about in that moment,” Doggette said.
Although her season was cut short, Doggette had a great competition season and then became a huge voice for the team.
Even though Doggette’s injury happened during warmups for the first rotation, she managed to come back out into the competition arena for her team.
“She was out there in a scooter and a boot, if that doesn’t tell you about her character, I don’t know what will,” graduate student Luisa Blanco said. “I think just seeing her strength and knowing that she would do anything, even be in a scooter and a boot for this team, it just gives you so much strength to go out there and put on a show for her.”
After the LSU meet, a week after Doggette’s injury, head coach Ashley Johnston talked about Doggette’s new role.
”Makarri was here just leading, being a vocal presence, being all in and invested in anything that she could do tonight for the team,” Johnston said. “It’s really cool to see them come together and really be there for each other in hard moments. That’s what this is about. That’s something that’s so special about Alabama gymnastics.”
Before her time as a leader, the Ohio native accomplished many accolades in her five years competing for the Crimson Tide. Her many honors consist of three-time SEC Specialist of the Week, 2021 first-team championship All-American on the uneven bars, and 2020, 2021, and 2022 second-team regular-season All-American on the uneven bars, to name just a few.
That was only the start of the legacy she would leave in Coleman Coliseum.
From Doggette’s freshman to junior seasons, she earned 17 event titles, mostly on the uneven bars. Along with earning titles, she earned championships. In 2021, Doggette was the SEC uneven bars champion after posting a 9.95. Later in the 2021 season, Doggette was the NCAA regionals uneven bars champion after scoring a perfect 10.
In what seemed to be her last year, Doggette competed for 30 routines and marked a second career 10 on the uneven bars against Kentucky. At the end of her senior season in 2023, she was ranked 18th nationally on the uneven bars and sixth in the SEC.
At the end of the 2023 season, Doggette announced she was coming back for a fifth year along with Blanco, Mati Waligora and Ella Burgess.
In her fifth year, Doggette managed to earn two uneven bars titles, against Florida and Arkansas, and earned a vault title at the Texas Woman’s University quad meet.
Even though her career ended sooner than expected, Doggette never stopped showing up for her team and the fans. She was there until the end, for the fam.
