GymQuarters Invitational

Illinois State, Iowa State, Lindenwood and SEMO in St. Charles, Missouri.

Recap 

The Big Storyline: Iowa State creeped back into the 196 range for the second time this season thanks to a pair of 9.9s from Loyim and Cooke on bars. The Cyclones also posted the best floor rotation of the season. Illinois State continued its rise to stardom with its third 195 of the season. The vault team finally came up with the landings it is capable of to post the highest vault score in program history. Gayla Griswold’s incredible vault performance led the Lions to another strong team total despite some inconsistencies on bars and floor. SEMO continued to show some weakness on bars but was able to continue to show improvement across the events. 

Implications: Illinois State snuck away with two conference victories after posting a program high vault total. Despite the Redbirds’ slower start to the season, they have put the naysayers to rest in the last couple weeks. The team will move to the top of the conference standings as the ranking system switches to NQS. Lindenwood put together another strong total of its own thanks to a 49-plus vault total. The Lions have been up and down on that event, but when the team hits, it’ll be hard for other USAG foes to contend. Anna Speller made her grand entrance back into the SEMO beam lineup with an event victory and tying her career high. Janelle Lopez also made her collegiate debuts on vault and bars. Hopefully the addition of athletes back onto events will signify the end of SEMO troubles with depth. However, it should be noted that Jordan Jones was not seen in any lineups this week. Her team compensated for her absence well, but it could become more of an issue for the team down the road. 

Records: Gayla Griswold broke the Lindenwood program record with a 9.975 on vault. Illinois State’s 49.350 marks the highest vault total in program history as well as the highest conference vault score in the regular season.