Redbird Gymnasts Seek Conference Title at MIC Championships

CHICAGO – All of the hard work and preparation throughout the season for the Illinois State gymnastics team has led it to this weekend, when the Redbirds travel to Chicago to compete for a conference title at the Midwest Independent Conference Championships hosted by Illinois-Chicago Saturday at the UIC Pavilion.

The team has been preparing and are ready for the MIC Championships on Saturday," head coach Bob Conkling said. "The competition will be very exciting, with all of the teams doing well throughout the season. Honestly, I feel whichever team hits all four events during the championship competition will most likely be the winner. I believe our team is up to the challenge and they will have a strong competition, especially since they looked solid this week in practice."

Illinois State heads into the competition with the fourth-best regional qualifying score (193.245), behind Lindenwood, Texas Women's and host UIC. However, the Redbirds have finished ahead of UIC and Lindenwood in the past two meets, so the battle for the championship is definitely up for grabs.

The Redbirds will be led by all-arounders Meredith LaRoche and Gabrielle Cooke, who have been consistent all season and each rank in the top six among all conference gymnasts in the event. LaRoche has a pair of all-around wins under her belt this season and currently ranks fourth in the conference with a RQS of 38.885, thanks a career-best effort of 39.025. Cooke, who has been among the best freshmen in the conference this year, is sixth on the RQS list and is currently tied for the best individual score in the conference on the floor with a 9.900.  

Anna Marema also ranks in the top three in the conference on bars, with her RQS of 9.785 thanks to a season-best score of 9.825. Marie Priest also ranks in the top 10 in the conference on vault (9.775) and both Cooke and senior Demi Pas rank in the top 10 on beam to round out a balanced effort for the Redbirds. 

Action is set to begin at 2 p.m. and fans can follow the action live on http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=171302

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