NORMAL, Ill. – It will be a busy weekend of competition for the Illinois State gymnastics team, as the Redbirds head to Chicago for the Windy City Invite on Friday before returning home to host Midwest Independent Conference foe Centenary on Sunday inside Horton Field House.
SETTING THE SCENE
The Redbirds will face off against Centenary twice in three days, as the Ladies are part of the second-annual Windy City Invite on Friday. The collegiate invitational will feature the Redbirds and fellow MIC foes Centenary and Southeast Missouri State, as well as Fisk and Wilberforce. The meet is held at Navy Pier and features a men's collegiate invite on Saturday in addition to prep competitions both days. Following Friday night's competition, the Redbirds will return home to host Centenary in the 2026 home opener at 2 p.m. Live stats for Sunday's home meet will be available via Virtius and fans can follow along via live results at GoRedbirds.com or via X on @redbirdwgym.
SCOUTING ILLINOIS STATE
•   The Redbirds posted a score of 195.650 last year to win the Windy City Invite and will be looking to repeat as champions this year.
•   ISU fought back after a tough first rotation, but finished in fourth place overall in the Border Battle Meet last weekend against Iowa, Iowa State and Illinois in the opening quad meet of the year with a score of 191.900.
•   Sammie Wolff posted the highest score of the night for the Redbirds on vault (9.825) and for her efforts, she earned MIC Co-Performance of the Week honors.
SCOUTING CENTENARY
•   Centenary finished third in the Bulldog Invitational with a team score of 182.500, a quad meet versus host Fisk, Wilberforce, and Greenville last weekend to open the 2026 season.
•   Olivia Williams and Claire Foret each recorded scores of 9.675 on floor to tie for second as the Ladies' best individual scores of the meet.
SCOUTING SEMO
•   The Gymhawks took second place in the first meet of 2026 turning in an overall score of 192.800 at the SEMO Tri-Meet last Friday night.Â
•   Senior Taylor Ingle helped the Gymhawks on all four apparatus as she turned in a 38.700 as the only Gymhawk in the all-around. Graduate Nyah Reader recorded a career best on the floor with a 9.850.
•   Reader, Ingle and sophomore Reagan Sams each picked up a MIC Weekly Award following the first week of the season. Reader was selected as the Coaches Choice Award winner, Ingle the MIC's Gymnast of the Week, and Sams was named the MIC Newcomer of the Week for their performances at the SEMO Tri-Meet.
SCOUTING FISK
•   Fisk placed third in the first meet of 2026 turning with a 188.600 at the SEMO Tri-Meet last Friday night against the host RedHawks and Central Michigan.
•   The Bulldogs then took second with a score of 184.025 two days later in a home quad meet against Greenville, Centenary and Wilberforce.
SCOUTING WILBERFORCE
•   Wilberforce scored a season-high 169.850 in the Bulldog Invitational, hosted by Fisk last Sunday.Â
•   Freshman Sydney Smith led the Bulldogs in all three disciplines that she competed. Smith was the top Wilberforce gymnast on the vault (season-high 9.425 points), the bars (9.25) and the beam (8.95).
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.
