Labat, Laster, Mack Win Event Titles; Redbirds Finish Third at MIC Championship

DENTON, Texas – A tough start on bars and beam was too much for Illinois State to come back from Friday night, as the Redbirds came in third at the 2022 Midwest Independent Conference Championship hosted by Texas Woman's University at Kitty Magee Arena.

Scoring Breakdown:
•    Texas Woman's: 195.750
•    Lindenwood: 194.875
•    Illinois State: 194.275
•    Southeast Missouri State: 193.425
•    Centenary: 189.350

Thoughts from Coach Bob Conkling:
"We Started off rough on the first two events and just could not recover, even with finishing strong on floor and vault. You have to hand it to both TWU and Lindenwood for hitting all four events when it counted. They both deserved to be ahead of us tonight."

Team Notes:
•    After starting the meet with a bye in the first rotation, the Redbirds struggled in rotation two on bars to start things off with a 48.300.
•    The Redbirds then went to beam, which has given them fits at time throughout the year and scuffled to a 47.950 with a couple falls.
•    Things bounced back a bit on floor with a 49.025 in the fourth rotation and ISU capped the night with a score of 49.000 on vault to secure the third-place finish.

Gymnast Notes:
•    For the second year in a row, Angelica Labat took home the conference title in the all-around … she finished just ahead of teammate Alana Laster in second place with a score of 39.150 as both took home All-MIC First-Team honors in the event.
•    Isabelle Fox ended her Redbird career competing in the all-around for the first time this season, and she earned All-MIC Second-Team honors finishing fifth overall with a score of 37.950.
•    Laster won the conference title on vault with a high score of 9.900 to earn her second All-MIC First-Team honor of the meet … Labat also earned All-MIC First-Team honors on vault as she tied for second with a score of 9.825.
•    Freshman Jaye Mack shared the conference title on floor with a score of 9.875 to All-MIC First-Team honors.
•    Madison Kipp led the way for the Redbirds on beam, tying for second place overall with a 9.775 to earn All-MIC First-Team honors.
•    Labat was the lone all-conference performer on bars, as she tied for fifth place with a 9.800 to take home All-MIC Second-Team honors.

All-MIC Performers:
All-Around: 
o    Angelica Labat, ISU (1st)
o    Alana Laster, ISU (1st)
o    Isabelle Fox, ISU (2nd)

Vault:
o    Alana Laster, ISU (1st)
o    Angelica Labat, ISU (1st)
o    J'Chelle Heard, ISU (2nd)
o    Charlise Doctor, ISU (2nd)
o    Jaye Mack, ISU (2nd)

Beam:
o    Madison Kipp, ISU (1st)
o    Angelica Labat, ISU (2nd)

Bars:
o    Angelica Labat, ISU (2nd)
o    Charlise Doctor, ISU (2nd)

Floor:
o    Jaye Mack, ISU (1st)
o    Alana Laster, ISU (1st)
o    Angelica Labat, ISU (2nd)
o    Isabella DeCroo, ISU (2nd)

Up Next:
The Redbirds will wait to see if they have any individuals qualify for the NCAA Regional, as the field will be announced on Tuesday, March 22, live at 11 a.m. CT on NCAA.com.

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