NORMAL, Ill. – A trio of Illinois State gymnast took home individual event titles on Friday night inside CEFCU Arena, as ISU hosted the 2026 Midwest Independent Conference Championship meet. With three teams bunched closely at the top, the Redbirds placed third behind Southeast Missouri State and Texas Woman's in the annual championship competition.
Scoring Breakdown:
•   Southeast Missouri State: 194.950
•   Texas Woman's University: 194.725
•   Illinois State: 194.550
•   Centenary: 189.325
Thoughts From Coach Ringer:
"I'm extremely proud of the effort from our group tonight. That is the first time all season we have not had to count a fall in a meet, and they didn't freak out when things maybe didn't quite go their way. We had some kind of obstacle to overcome on every event, but they never wavered and kept on going. I don't know if they could have done that a couple months ago, so now they see what they are capable of and where we are going in the future as a program."
Team Notes:
•   Illinois State started on vault and scored 48.275 and then followed that with a 48.475 on bars midway through the meet.
•   The Redbirds then closed the night strong, first on beam in rotation No. 3 where they posted their second-highest score on the event this season with a 48.900.
•   ISU then finished the night on floor in a strong way, posting their second-highest team score on that event on the year with another 48.900 to finish the meet in third place.
Gymnast Notes:
•   Ally Lau took the top spot on the podium on the beam, scoring a 9.850 to place first and win her first MIC individual title … Savannah Ray was right behind with a 9.825 to tie for second and take home All-MIC First Team honors.
•   Seniors Jaly Jones and Leah Davis were part of a four-way tie at the top of the standing on the floor, as they shared the conference title with Sophia Isbell and Kylie Minard of TWU with a score of 9.850 … Courtney Woods tied for fifth place with a 9.800 to take home All-MIC Second-Team honors.
•   Ray was the top finisher for the Redbirds on the vault, finishing in a four-way tie for fourth place with a score of 9.800.
•   Jada Beswick and Madyson Baucom tied for second place to finish on the podium on bars, with matching scores of 9.800.
•   Ray also took second place in the all-around with a 38.200 to earn All-MIC First Team honors.
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