MORGAN PRICE is observed near the kitchen table, her older sister Frankie nearby, as Morgan gently runs her fingertips over the front section of a well-worn leather waistcoat. The dark, aged fabric is embellished with vibrant badges that provide a peek into the existence of its proprietor: their father, Chris.
“Honestly, this truly captured who he was,” Morgan remarked after discerning a particularly lighthearted emblem, which proclaimed “Bad Ass Brother.” Immediately following, Frankie suppressed a laugh upon locating another.
Chris Price competed for the Kansas City Royals in the latter part of the 1990s. Yet, when the siblings recall recollections of their dad, he is frequently depicted departing on one of his customized Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Morgan recollects observing from the utility room. Frankie was closer, in the garage.
“He would consistently glance back and wave, displaying the broadest smile on his countenance,” she shared.
Nevertheless, both concur that the thunderous roar of the exhaust is a sound they will perpetually recall. It punctuates one of the limited recollections the Prices possess of their father, who passed away following a 2009 motorcycle mishap at the age of 36. Frankie was six years old, Morgan four, and their sister Kristin, two.
Frankie and Morgan articulate that a number of years elapsed before they genuinely grasped the profundity of the bereavement. By that point, gymnastics had evolved into the medium through which they honored their father’s memory.
“Chris wholeheartedly supported that,” Marsha Price stated regarding the girls’ enthusiasm for the sport, “ensuring that each day involved the query, ‘What will you undertake to improve by tomorrow?'”
This maxim serves as a guiding principle, bequeathed by Chris to his offspring.
“My driving force is to uphold my surname,” asserted Frankie, who dedicated the past four years to conquering setbacks and refining her resilience as an Arkansas Razorback. Morgan, meanwhile, repeatedly forged new achievements during her three years with Fisk University, which inaugurated the inaugural HBCU gymnastics squad in 2023.
However, at the conclusion of the previous season, the sisters arrived at a pivotal juncture. With a final year of collegiate eligibility remaining, each pondered if or where to utilize it.
Personal contemplation ultimately guided them to the identical destination: Frankie and Morgan would conclude their athletic careers together in Fayetteville.
“We embrace it with immense pride to be a Price Girl,” Morgan declared.
NINE HOURS REMAIN before Arkansas’ home competition against fellow SEC adversary Kentucky. The Gymbacks warm up on the mat of an unoccupied Bud Walton Arena, gliding over foam rollers collectively before separating to execute their individual pre-meet customs.
Frankie proceeds to a corner of the floor where she will subsequently commence her routine for thousands of Arkansas adherents. For the present, she merely outlines the movements. However, her gaze holds an intensity that evokes the memorable notes of Dr. Dre’s “The Next Episode,” featuring Snoop Dogg — a track that has been an integral component of Frankie’s floor routines throughout her entire Razorbacks tenure.
“I am Frank Dogg,” she proclaimed. “Like, I possess that competitive spirit within me, do you comprehend?”
Frankie Price’s @SnoopDogg floor routine never disappoints 🤩 @RazorbackGym pic.twitter.com/LEyDt00pLh
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) January 25, 2025
Frankie verbally pledged to Arkansas at fourteen years of age. She spent her high school years envisioning her collegiate debut. But in 2021, just prior to her arrival on campus, she sustained an ACL tear. The eighteen-month recuperation period necessitated her redshirting her freshman season, postponing competition for an additional year.
When she eventually entered the Razorbacks’ vault and floor rotations — sporting a brace on her right knee, worn ever since — she introduced impressive proficiencies, and an even more pronounced persona.
“Frankie possesses this knack for simply captivating enthusiasts and captivating individuals, even her squadmates,” commented head coach Jordyn Wieber, who has dedicated the past seven seasons to developing Arkansas into a top-ten program. And Frankie has contributed significantly to this accomplishment.
In 2023, during her redshirt freshman year, Frankie became the fourth Razorbacks gymnast to accumulate a 9.975 on floor, a commendable achievement for Arkansas’ highest score since 2014. The subsequent year, she aided Arkansas in securing its inaugural 198-plus team score in program history, as well as a berth in the NCAA championship.
Last season, the Gymbacks pursued a consecutive championship appearance. They had already qualified for the regional final when Frankie took to the floor in the concluding routine of the final rotation. However, at the termination of her initial pass, she landed her double layout short and instantly collapsed.
“It was the most excruciating agony I’ve ever experienced in my existence,” she conveyed.
Frankie was carried off the floor, subsequently discovering she had ruptured her Achilles tendon. Two days later, she cheered from the sideline as Arkansas vied in the regional final — “for Frankie,” Wieber declared after the injury. Yet the Razorbacks concluded in the fourth position, failing to advance to the national championship.
A few weeks thence, Frankie, then a senior, found herself in Wieber’s office. “What are your thoughts on one more year?” her coach inquired.
“Following the setbacks I’ve endured, I had to momentarily pause and concentrate on my ‘why,'” Frankie reflected. “My ‘why’ entails upholding my family name. And that harks back to my dad, because I am certain he would wish for me to persevere through challenging periods and exert myself to embody what it means to be a Price Girl.”
The response to Wieber’s inquiry was straightforward. She would come back to Arkansas to spend her fifth and ultimate season as a Gymback.
THREE HOURS REMAIN before the competition commences, and the Razorbacks have returned to the arena floor.
This time, however, the subdued atmosphere of the morning has yielded to a more vivacious energy, as teammates pose for photographs and enlist each other to record TikToks.
Amidst the activity, Morgan draws Frankie aside for pictures. For a few moments, they stand side-by-side, an arm encircling the other’s waist, before parting once more.
“Should you enter the gymnasium, you wouldn’t discern they’re sisters,” Wieber noted, “because in the gym, they function as teammates.”
The separation is subtle. Nevertheless, the Price Girls acknowledge that each has been fated to carve their distinct journey.
In 2021, shortly after Frankie initiated her freshman year, Morgan also committed to Arkansas. She maintains her sister did not influence her choice, instead citing an eagerness to be a part of an expanding program. The subsequent year, however, Fisk declared its intention to launch a gymnastics squad. Morgan perceived this as an even greater prospect for contribution. She rescinded her commitment to Arkansas in favor of Fisk.
“I understood that the determination I was making transcended mere gymnastics,”
she articulated.
Her enrollment as a Bulldog marked a historic moment for Morgan. During her sophomore year in 2024, she claimed the coveted all-around championship at the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics National Invitation Championship (then known as the USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate National Championships), a postseason competition designed for programs with restricted scholarships. The following year, in 2025, she made history again by being the inaugural HBCU gymnast to achieve a flawless 10.0 score, subsequently securing a second WCGNIC multi-event championship.
Having scaled such pinnacles of achievement, she found herself reflecting on her father’s guiding principles.
“My father, I am certain, would wish for me to constantly pursue excellence,” she articulated. “All aspirations I had envisioned for my time at Fisk were successfully met and surpassed, prompting me to think, ‘For my final academic year, I truly desire to push my boundaries.'”
Weeks following Wieber’s inquiry to Frankie concerning an additional season in Fayetteville, the leading coach fielded a comparable query from Frankie’s sibling.
Morgan recounts that Wieber’s steadfast support for her choice to matriculate at Fisk remained vivid in her memory.
“Her priority is our well-being as individuals, preceding our roles as athletes,” Morgan commented. Consequently, Morgan resolved to contact the Razorbacks’ personnel to gauge their reception of a second pledge. “Their enthusiasm was immediate, welcoming her with complete acceptance, which affirmed for me that it was the correct path.”
Morgan subsequently relocated to Arkansas for her penultimate and concluding year as a Gymback. That May, the siblings divulged the announcement via social platforms, accompanied by an image depicting them standing back-to-back, arms folded, and expressions resolute. This marked the initial instance of numerous photographs they would capture, adorned in identical cardinal-hued leotards. The subsequent month saw Fisk declare the cessation of its gymnastics initiative post-2026 season, a development that stunned the pioneering team’s constituents.
Frankie mused, regarding the team, “The prospect of cohabiting, training side-by-side, and navigating our concluding collegiate year in unison, presents a superb opportunity for us to deepen our bond and maintain our connection throughout our lives.'”
MOMENTS PRIOR to the commencement of the competition, numerous Gymbacks had already occupied the performance area, their forms silhouetted against the shifting beams of spotlights and the subtle radiance of the large screen. The public address speaker’s voice permeates the dim stadium, commencing the introduction of Arkansas’ senior athletes.
Upon the presentation of Morgan, followed by Frankie, they individually ascend the central platform on the floor, acknowledging the rising wave of acclamations with a wave.
Wieber remarked, “They exude an undeniable air of self-assurance. As we enter any venue with Frankie and Morgan representing our squad, it imbues the entire contingent, the entire group, with a heightened degree of self-belief.”
This fact was never more apparent than during Arkansas’ contest against Kentucky. The Razorbacks initiated on the vault apparatus, with Morgan occupying the pivotal anchor spot. As Frankie, Marsha, and Kristin vocally encouraged her, Morgan performed an impeccable Yurchenko 1.5, earning the inaugural perfect 10.0 in the annals of Arkansas’ history. Mere moments following the score’s revelation, Frankie enveloped Morgan in a tight hug.
THE FIRST PERFECT 10 IN ARKANSAS HISTORY ON VAULT GOES TO MORGAN PRICE‼️🔥#NCAAGYM x 🎥 SECN+ / @RazorbackGym
— NCAA Women’s Gymnastics (@NCAA_Gymnastics) February 21, 2026
A series of precise Gymback landings ensued on the parallel bars, balance beam, and floor exercise, with Frankie achieving a 9.925, matching her peak score for the season. Morgan promptly offered her felicitations, springing onto the mat to exchange a lively double high-five.
Despite the regular season competition concluding in a stalemate, Arkansas concluded the SEC championship ranked above Kentucky, securing the seventh position. This showing enabled the Razorbacks to clinch the ninth seed for the postseason, thereby granting them automatic progression to the NCAA tournament’s second phase.
Throughout their entire gymnastic journeys, the Price sisters have tirelessly chased the ideal of “continuous improvement.” As they approach the culmination of their concluding university athletic year, both express their aspiration for it to conclude with Arkansas participating in the NCAA championship event.
Frankie asserted, regarding the team, “Ultimately, we function as a family. No individual bears the burden singularly; we accomplish it collectively.”