Labat, Laster Earns MIC Weekly Gymnastics Honors

NORMAL, Ill. – For the second week in a row, a pair of Illinois State gymnasts have earned weekly honors from the Midwest Independent Conference as senior Angelica Labat was named MIC Gymnast of the Week and sophomore Alana Laster earned MIC Performance of the Week honors.

Also joining Labat and Laster as MIC honorees this week are Jaly Jones of Lindenwood (Newcomer of the Week) and Jordan Jones of Southeast Missouri State (Coaches Choice). 

The MIC Gymnast of the Week honor for Labat is her third of the season and ups her career total to 20 MIC weekly honors between the various categories. Labat led the Redbirds to a victory over MIC rival Southeast Missouri State last Friday night at home and was consistent across the board, posting four scores of 9.8 or better to finish with a season-high all-around score of 39.225 to take home the individual crown. 

That performance included a first-place finish on bars with a 9.800 and a third-place performance on floor with a 9.825. Her score of 39.225 is the second highest in the MIC this season, and she currently ranks No. 46 in the country with her National Qualifying Score (NQS) of 38.995 which is the highest in the MIC.

Laster went big on vault and put together her best all-around performance of the season for the Redbirds in their defeat of the Redhawks. Laster won the vault competition with a season-high score of 9.925, which ties the highest individual event score of the season for a Redbird gymnast. That score helped the Redbirds post a season-high event score of 49.175 on vault, which is the second-highest score on the event in school history behind last year's high of 49.350.

Her hot start on the vault propelled Laster to a season-best effort of 39.175 in the all-around to finish second overall. That score was just short of her career-high of 39.200 set last year. The 9.9 or better score was the fifth on vault for Laster in her career, which includes her 9.9 score to win the vault competition at last year's MIC Championships.  

The Redbirds return to action on Sunday, Feb. 26, when they travel East to face New Hampshire, Pitt and Southern Connecticut State in a quad meet set to start at 1 p.m. CT in Durham, New Hampshire.

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