McLean County Times

An eventful season of notable achievements has set the stage for the Illinois State gymnastics team as they aim to regain their top standing at the 2025 Midwest Independent Conference Championship. The championship will be hosted by Centenary at The Gold Dome in Shreveport, Louisiana, on Friday.

The Redbirds are slated to compete against host Centenary, Southeast Missouri State, and Texas Woman's University for the conference title. The meet is scheduled to be streamed live via Virtius at 4 p.m. CT.

"I think the entire team is excited for the MIC Championship," said Illinois State head coach Bob Conkling. "They are ready and prepared to battle for the title. It should be a very interesting competition with a lot of good gymnastics from all four teams."

Illinois State seeks its second conference championship in three seasons, following their victory at the 2023 MIC Championship with a program-record score of 196.375—their first title since 2012.

The Redbirds enter the championships with several advantages:

- They hold the highest team National Qualifying Score (NQS) in the conference at 195.545.

- Currently ranked No. 42 nationally, they lead Texas Woman's University (No. 48), Southeast Missouri State (No. 59), and Centenary College (No. 80).

- They have posted this season's highest average meet score in their conference of 195.169 and achieved a season-high score of 196.150.

- Illinois State holds top event NQS scores within their conference on vault, bars, beam, and floor.

- Nationally, ISU ranks No. 30 on vault and No. 32 on floor.

Individually, senior Alana Laster is entering as a strong contender with top individual NQS on vault (9.870) and floor (9.875). Fellow senior Jaye Mack follows closely behind Laster in these categories while also seeking her fourth consecutive individual MIC title on floor.

Senior Sara Wabi leads her peers in NQS on bars (9.840) while sophomore Reese Grolla tops the beam category with an NQS of 9.830—just ahead of Mack’s second-place ranking—and stands third in bars behind Wabi.

Additionally, senior Mya Robinson has been consistent throughout all-around events this year and ranks second overall heading into this competition.

For updates on Illinois State gymnastics results or more information about related activities such as tickets or merchandise options visit GoRedbirds.com or check out social media platforms like Instagram (@redbirdgymnastics), X (@redbirdwgym), or Facebook pages dedicated specifically towards fans interested directly following news surrounding athletes participating under official university programs there too!