There’s not a set of high heels tall enough to keep Rachelle Thompson on the ground during Auburn’s floor exercise.

When the Tigers close out their home meets with some fun on the floor, the Auburn assistant coach works up nearly as much sweat as the six Auburn participants. Just this past Friday, after Lindsey Puckett’s season-best 9.925 closed out Auburn’s win over Arkansas, Thompson tossed her hair back, jumped up and down — in her heels — and ran to the center of the mat with the rest of her celebrating team.

“Yeah,” sophomore Rachel Inniss said, “she gets really into it.”

Thompson’s enthusiasm toward the most excitable, fan-friendly event in college gymnastics has rubbed off on the Tigers.

No. 5 Auburn has averaged 49.165 on its floor exercise this season — its highest among its four events and the third-best tally in the nation.

The Tigers (4-3, 2-2 SEC) will look to pad that average at tonight’s 7 p.m. meet against Kentucky at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

“We’re confident,” Thompson said. “From Day 1, when we went out to the first meet in Chicago, they knew they could hit their floor routines, and we’ve just rolled with that since then.”

Thompson credits that confidence to the team’s health, depth and more time in the preseason than usual to plan each gymnast’s routine.

Thompson serves as the Tigers’ head choreographer. But it’s a collaborative effort, she said, as some gymnasts will come in with a set routine that got them through years on the club circuit.

Other gymnasts also weigh in, she said, and point out things or present ideas Thompson or the respective gymnast may not have noticed.

“From the beginning it’s ‘If you don’t like something or you don’t feel comfortable, speak now,’” Thompson said. “A lot of it is them and me being the guidance to say, ‘We need to have this step and this head look here and this toss; give me something with your hips.’

“It’s a team event when we do choreography.”

That certainly includes head coach Jeff Thompson, Rachelle’s husband.

Jeff Thompson serves as the Tigers’ in-house DJ, compiling a wide assortment of music that the gymnasts may or may not choose to use.

Some gymnasts, such as Puckett and Inniss — both of whom come from dance backgrounds — need no assistance in compiling a mix for their 90-second routine. Others, such as Krissy Voss, let the Thompsons have complete control.

And then there’s the A.J. Mills’ of the team.

The senior came to Auburn attached to a quaint, formal routine she used throughout her club career. Mills quickly changed her mind after her first college gymnastics experience, where there’s more than just friends and family in the stands.

“She looked around and saw all these college girls doing this hip-hop and really dancing,” Rachelle Thompson said. “When we got back, she’s like, ‘I want a new floor routine, I want hip-hop music.’ Since then, she’s been this great dance performer for us on floor.”

And Rachelle Thompson’s not alone in the vicarious thrills she receives from Auburn’s round on the floor.

By this point in the season, members of the team who don’t participate in the floor exercise have the routines of those that do down pat. Sometimes the Tigers’ onlookers break out some non-choreographed steps of their own — all to the delight of the participants.

“Even though you’re supposed to be focused on your routine, sometimes you’ll catch a glimpse of your teammates dancing along to your music,” Inniss said. “Just knowing that they’re behind your back gives you all the power in the world.”

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