NORMAL, Ill. – Coming off a season-high score in a tri-meet win over Southeast Missouri State and Fisk University, Illinois State has earned a clean sweep of the weekly Midwest Independent Conference honors announced on Wednesday.
Senior Angelica Labat was selected for her third MIC Gymnast of the Week honor in 2024 and took home Performance of the Week honors this week. Freshman Reese Grolla's win bars led her to being named the Newcomer of the Week, and junior Julia Heiner was selected for the this week's Coaches' Choice award.
For the fourth meet in a row, Labat picked up a win in the all-around in Illinois State's victory over SEMO and Fisk. Labat finished at the top of the all-around competition with a score of 39.225, thanks to three top four individual event finishes. Her best performance of the night came on vault, as she tied her career high with a 9.950 to win the event and that score also tied for the highest score on the event this season in the MIC. Her performance on vault resulted in the Performance of the Week honor for Labat, her first in that category this season.
Grolla set a career-high on bars to win the event, as the Redbirds scored a season-high 195.975 last Friday night in Cape Girardeau. Grolla stepped up and helped the Redbirds finish 1-2 on the event with her personal-best score of 9.850 with Labat right behind in second place.
Heiner has been a consistent scorer for the Redbirds this season on bars and fought through adversity last weekend to help the Redbirds to a win. While working through her routine, she caught the low bar with her pointer finger tucked under and dislocated the finger. However, she continued and finished the routine, then walked over to the team's athletic trainer and had her pull the finger back into alignment. That effort resulted in the leagues head coaches honoring her with her first award of the season.
The Redbirds return home on Friday, February 23, to host Western Michigan and Alaska Anchorage at CEFCU Arena. The meet will start at 7 p.m., and fans are encouraged to wear pink and arrive early as the Redbirds will unveil their banner reflecting the 2023 MIC Championship.
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