BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The 2023 Midwest Independent Conference Champion Illinois State gymnastics team is set to defend its crown in 2024 and will begin that defense on Sunday, January 7, when the Redbirds open the season at Bowling Green for a dual meet against the Falcons.
SETTING THE SCENE
The Redbirds and the Falcons will officially open the 2024 season on Sunday at the Stroh Center, with the meet set to start at 2 p.m. The meet will be streamed on YouTube Live and live results will be available via Virtius.
THOUGHTS FROM ISU HEAD COACH BOB CONKLING
"The team is well prepared and ready for our first meet of 2024. We return every routine from last year's conference championships, so we are looking forward to picking up where we left off last season."
SCOUTING THE REDBIRDS
•   For the first time since 2012, ISU won the MIC title with a program-record score of 196.375 at the 2023 MIC Championship.
•   The Redbirds will look very familiar to those who watched them last season, with every point scorer from the MIC Championship returning in 2024.
•   That includes reigning MIC all-around champion Alana Laster and floor champion Jaye Mack, who both qualified for the NCAA Regionals as individuals as well.
•   Veteran Angelica Labat returns for a fifth season looking to cap off her legendary career with another conference title, after winning the MIC individual championship on vault.
•   Sophomore Joy Ziegenfelder also returns as a conference champ, as she tied for the event title on beam with a career-best score of 9.900 at last year's MIC Championship meet.
•   First-Team All-MIC performers Nirel-Bart Williams (vault), Sarah Wabi (beam and bars), and Kaitlyn Donovan are back as well looking to help the team win its second-straight league championship.
•   ISU's lineup has added four exciting newcomers in Jada Beswick, Reese Grolla, Alexis Hope, and Ally Lau.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
•   The Falcons return 19 members from the 2023 squad and have added six new gymnasts to the roster for 2024.
•   BGSU has competed once this season, hosting an exhibition meet against Ball State on Sunday, December 17.
•   Junior Katrina Mendez Abolnik returns, after she competed as an individual on vault in the 2023 NCAA Regional in Pittsburgh.
FOLLOW US
For all latest on Illinois State gymnastics, stay tuned at Goredbirds.com and follow the team on Instagram (@redbirdgymnastics), on X (@redbirdwgym) and Facebook.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Â Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
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