McLean County Times

Illinois State Wins MIC Championship On Final Routine Of The Night

The 2023 Midwest Independent Conference 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 Jaye Mack, Illinois State clinched the MIC title with a program-record score of 196.375 on Friday night at Houck Field House on the campus of Southeast Missouri State.

Scoring Breakdown:•    Illinois State: 196.375•    Lindenwood: 196.275•    Southeast Missouri State: 195.525•    Texas Woman's: 194.900•    Centenary: 188.875

Thoughts from Head Coach Bob Conkling:"From the moment the team stepped on the floor to vault, they were zoned in and focused on winning this championship. They knew every tenth was going to count in this meet and they took advantage of every opportunity they had. Vault was incredible and we stuck the last two routines. We went to bars and did great and then headed to beam, where the team posted their highest score of the year. We knew if we hit floor on the final rotation that we would have a shot to win, and to their credit they held it together and pulled off an awesome win. To win a conference championship, it takes everyone even the gymnasts who aren't competing that are there to support their teammates and keep the energy up. It was a team effort all the way tonight and I could not be prouder of our student-athletes, coaches and staff." Team Notes:•    The Redbirds got off to a tremendous start, scoring 49.250 on vault in the first rotation to take the early lead … the score is the second highest in school history, just topping the team's previous season high of 49.225 set at the quad meet at New Hampshire.•    After the bye, ISU posted a score of 48.750 on bars to stay in the hunt with a running score of 98.000 just behind SEMO who had a 98.150 after a bye of its own.•    On what has been a challenging event at times for the Redbirds throughout the year, the Redbirds posted a season-high team score of 49.050 on beam to up their score to 147.050 headed into the final rotation.•    The Redbirds saved their best routine of the night for last, as they scored a 49.325 on floor to just edge out Lindenwood for the conference title. •    The MIC title is the first for the Redbirds since 2012 and second for head coach Bob Conkling in his tenure with the Redbirds.

Gymnast Notes:•    Sophomore Alana Laster took home the crown in the all-around, as she scored a career-best 39.350 to finish in first place just ahead of Riley Daniels from Lindenwood.•    Senior Angelica Labat recorded the highest score of her career on vault of 9.950 to take the individual title on that event, with Labat right behind in second place with a 9.900 to take home All-MIC First-Team honors and freshman Nirel Bart-Williams also took home first-team honors tying for third place with a 9.850.•    For the second season in a row, sophomore Jaye Mack took home the individual championship on floor as she scored a 9.925 and Kaitlyn Donovan also finished on the first-team podium with a third-place finish with a career-high score of 9.875.•    Freshman Joy Ziegenfelder had quite the performance in her first conference meet, as she tied for the event title on beam with a career-best score of 9.900•    Sara Wabi took home a pair of All-MIC First-Team honors, with a second-place finish on bars with a 9.825 and a third-place tie on beam with a 9.850.

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