McLean County Times

Redbird Duo Selected To Compete At NCAA Regional In Oklahoma

Illinois State gymnastics standouts Alana Laster and Jaye Mack were each selected to compete in the 2023 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Regional hosted by Oklahoma from March 29- April 2 during the NCAA Championship Selection Show broadcast Monday.

Laster and Mack will both be representing Illinois State at the NCAA Regional for the second year in a row, with Laster competing on vault and Mack on floor. The duo will compete in the evening session on Thursday, March 30, at the Lloyd Noble Center at 7 p.m., with Laster joining Oklahoma and competing in rotation 3 and Mack joining with Ohio State and competing in rotation 1.

"We are so happy for Alana and Jaye," ISU head coach Bob Conkling said. "They both put together solid performances this season, especially in the last few competitions. Both needed strong routines at the conference meet to solidify their qualification scores for Regionals, and both nailed their routines. It's great that we're going back to Oklahoma this year since both competed there last year, so it will be a familiar place for them.  I'm excited for both of them to represent Illinois State on the big stage once again."

Laster heads into the Regional tied at No. 44 with a National Qualifying Score (NQS) of 9.885. The 2023 Midwest Independent Conference all-around champion has been stellar all season for the Redbirds and helped lead ISU to its first MIC Championship since 2012 last weekend at Southeast Missouri State. At the MIC Championship, Laster took home the conference all-around title with a career-high score of 39.350 and earned All-MIC First-Team honors on vault as she finished second behind teammate Angelica Labat with a 9.900. She has posted scores of 9.9 or better in three out of her last five meets on the event, including tying her season high with scores of 9.925 at home against SEMO and then on the road at SEMO. 

Mack's performance on floor all season has been inspired, as she heads into the regional tied for No. 60 in the country with a NQS of 9.905. The back-to-back MIC champion on floor has posted scores of 9.925 or better in four out of her last five meets, with a career-best of 9.950 achieved in the tri-meet with nationally ranked Kentucky and Illinois on March 11. Last weekend, the MIC Championship came down to the final routine of the night to decide which team would taking home the trophy and thanks to a clutch performance on floor by Mack with a score of 9.925 to clinch the title for the Redbirds. 

Last year at the NCAA Regional in Norman, Mack's score on floor of 9.925 tied her for second overall at the regional but after tiebreaker scenarios were sorted through and the advancing teams were known, her score came out on top as the highest for an individual on floor (who was not on an advancing team). That resulted in Mack receiving an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship in Fort Worth, Texas.

The top 36 teams based on national qualifying score (NQS) were selected for regional competition. The top 12 all-around competitors and top 16 event specialists were also selected based on national qualifying scores and were placed geographically, keeping individuals from the same team together. Regional sites will host first round, second round and regional final competition over a three-day period. The first round will consist of two teams, the second round will consist of eight teams and the regional final will consist of four teams. Regional competition will consist of nine teams, three all-around competitors and four individual specialists per event.

The National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships will consist of eight teams, four all-around competitors and 16 event specialists. The top two teams and the top all-around competitor (who is not on an advancing team) from each regional will receive an automatic berth to the national championships. In addition, the top event specialist in each event (not on an advancing team or an all-arounder) advances to the national championship (in that event only).

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