NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State gymnastics head coach Bob Conkling has rounded out his coaching staff, with the addition of former standout West Virginia gymnast Kendra Combs as assistant coach.
Combs, who tied for sixth place at the 2023 NCAA Regional on the floor, will be starting her collegiate coaching career with the Redbirds. She previously spent time coaching at the West Virginia Gymnastics Training Center (WVGTC).
"I'm excited to welcome Kendra to our gymnastics coaching staff," Conkling stated. "Her experience as a college gymnast at West Virginia, along with her club coaching experience, will be a big benefit to the team. Â Even though she can coach all four events, Kendra's focus will be vault and assisting me with bars."
A Windsor, Connecticut, native Combs capped off her stellar career at WVU with nearly 1,500 career points scored including leading the team in 2022 with 439.6 points on the year.
"I'm so grateful for this opportunity to join the Redbird family," Combs said. "I'm excited that I get to start my collegiate coaching career here at ISU. I'm looking forward to working with the current staff and student-athletes and compete for another conference championship in 2024."
In her final season at West Virginia, Combs was a consistent competitor on bars, beam and floor while helping the team to the NCAA Regional Second Round. In 2022, Combs was a NCAA Regional Championships individual qualifier on floor after earning All-Big 12 honors in the all-around. An Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection, Combs tallied 21 podium finishes, including 11 event wins, to pace the squad and earned new career-best totals on vault, bars, floor and the all-around.
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