INDIANAPOLIS – Illinois State gymnastics standouts Angelica Labat, Alana Laster and Jaye Mack were each selected to compete in the 2022 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Regional hosted by Oklahoma from March 30 to April 2 during the NCAA Championship Selection Show broadcast Tuesday.
Labat will be competing in the all-around at the NCAA Regional for the second year in a row, while Laster (vault) and Mack (floor) have earned their spots as freshman in the regional. All three will compete in the evening session on Thursday, March 31 at the Lloyd Noble Center. Labat is set to rotate with the winner of the First Round competition between West Virginia and Arizona, Laster will rotate with Arkansas and Mack will rotate with Arizona State.
"We are so proud of these three young ladies and to see all their hard work pay off by qualifying for Regionals," ISU head coach Bob Conkling said. "All three continually represents themselves, their team and their school to the best of their ability, so I'm sure it will be no different at Regionals in Oklahoma." Â
Labat heads to her second-straight NCAA Regional, after she compete in the all-around and won the vault at the 2021 Tuscaloosa Regional to advance to the NCAA Championships. The back-to-back Midwest Independent Conference Gymnast of the Year heads into the regional tied for No. 36 nationally in the all-around with a National Qualifying Score (NQS) of 39.310. During the 2022 season, Labat won the all-around ten times overall and was named the MIC Gymnast of the Week six times on way to winning the all-around at the 2022 MIC Championships last weekend. She holds a career-high all-around score of 39.475, which she set earlier this season against Southeast Missouri State and at last year's NCAA Regional in Tuscaloosa.
Laster will compete in the vault at the NCAA Regional, where she is tied for No. 53 with a NQS of 9.875. The 2022 MIC Newcomer of the Year has been stellar in her first season for the Redbirds, earning MIC Newcomer of the Week honors three times and Performance of the Week honors once. Last weekend at the MIC Championship, Laster took home the conference title in the vault with a score of 9.900 which was her fourth score of the season over 9.0. She also finished second in the all-around behind Labat at the MIC Championship to cap off a stellar debut season. Her career high of 9.950 was achieved in a win at Southeast Missouri State earlier this year.
Mack's performance on floor all season has been inspired, as she heads into the regional tied for No. 56 in the country with a NQS of 9.900. The 2022 MIC co-champion on floor has posted scores of 9.9 or better in five meets, with a career-best of 9.925 achieved in back-to-back weeks at Southeast Missouri State and BYU. From February 18 to March 4, Mack went over 9.9 four-straight times and finished the season with consecutive scores of 9.875 including at last weekend's MIC Championship. During the 2022 season, Mack was a two-time MIC Newcomer of the Week selection and earned Performance of the Week honors once.
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.
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