Illinois State Places Third At 2024 MIC Championship

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – As has become a custom at the Midwest Independent Conference Championship, the winner came down to the final rotation as Illinois State came in with a lead but ultimately came in third place behind host Lindenwood and Texas Woman's at Hyland Arena on Saturday in St. Charles, Illinois.

Scoring Breakdown:
•    Lindenwood: 196.075
•    Texas Woman's: 195.875
•    Illinois State: 195.100
•    Southeast Missouri: 194.275
•    Centenary: 188.550

Thoughts from Head Coach Bob Conkling:
"We were awesome on the first three events of the night, and I think the bye right before our last event kind of got the team out of rhythm. We tried to pick ourselves back up before bars, but it just didn't work out. We made some very uncharacteristic mistakes on that final rotation, and it cost us the meet. Kudos to Lindenwood for staying consistent throughout and winning the championship in their final meet as a program. We knew it was going to be close between the three schools at the top, and it was at the end between Lindenwood and TWU because we made too many mistakes on bars."
 
Team Notes:
•    The Redbirds got off to a tremendous start, scoring 49.275 on beam to take the lead after the first rotation. That score is the second highest of the season for ISU and ties for the fourth-best mark in school history.
•    ISU kept the momentum going in rotation No. 2 on floor, finishing with a 49.200 to maintain its lead halfway through the meet. 
•    Another solid rotation for the Redbirds on vault with a score of 49.100 kept them in the lead heading into rotation No. 4, where ISU sat out on a bye.
•    An unfortunate rotation on bars that saw the Redbirds score 47.525 moved them into third place as the meet came to a close.

Gymnast Notes:
•    Senior Angelica Labat won a pair of MIC individual titles, tying for the top spot on vault with a 9.875 and sitting alone in the top spot on beam with a career-best tying score of 9.925.
•    For the fourth year in a row, Jaye Mack earned a conference title on the floor as she finished in a four-way tie for the top spot on the event with a score of 9.900.
•    Senior Madison Kipp earned First-Team All-MIC honors on vault, tying teammate Jaye Mack for second with a score of 9.850.
•    Mya Robinson and Leah Davis each earned First-Team honors on beam, as the duo finished in a four-way tie for third place with scores of 9.875.
•    Freshman Reese Grolla tallied Second-Team All-MIC honors in her first championship meet, scoring 9.775 on bars to tie for fourth place overall.
•    MIC co-Newcomer of the Year Ally Lau garnered second-team honor on beam with a score of 9.825.
•    Sara Wabi earned All-MIC second team marks on both bars and floor for the Redbirds.
•    Kaitlyn Donovan, Alana Laster, and Davis also took home second-team honors on floor for ISU.

All-MIC Performers (1st or 2nd Team):
All-Around: 
•   Angelica Labat (2nd)

Vault
•   Angelica Labat (1st)
•   Jaye Mack (1st)
•   Madison Kipp (1st)
•   Alana Laster (2nd)
•   Mya Robinson (2nd)

Beam:
•   Angelica Labat (1st)
•   Leah Davis (1st)
•   Mya Robinson (1st)
•   Ally Lau (2nd)

Bars:
•   Sara Wabi (2nd)
•   Reese Grolla (2nd)

Floor:
•   Jaye Mack (1st)
•   Kaitlyn Donovan (2nd)
•   Alana Laster (2nd)
•   Leah Davis (2nd)
•   Sara Wabi (2nd)

Up Next:
The Redbirds will wait to see if they have any individuals qualify for an NCAA Regional, when the field is announced on Monday, March 25, live at 11 a.m. CT on NCAA.com.