MIC Championship

Recap

The Big Storyline: TWU’s victory snapped Lindenwood’s six-year winning streak at the conference championship. The Pioneers started the meet on bars tied for the lead and didn’t look back. Lindenwood’s chances for the title were thwarted by a sub-normal vault rotation with several very short landings. Illinois State counted mistakes on both bars and beam. However, the Redbirds’ vault rotation was a highlight of the meet with Laster’s stuck Yurchenko one and a half. SEMO fought from beginning to end, avoiding counting any falls. Anna Speller, typically a beam specialist, stepped up to compete bars this week so her team would have six scores. Her routine counted toward the team total. Jolie Miller and Lindsay Ockler closed the meet by tying for the bars event title with near-perfect routines. Centenary started strong on vault but could not keep the momentum going after the bye rotation. Taylor Ann Wilson’s bar routine was a highlight thanks to her textbook Maloney to Pak salto connection. 

Postseason Implications: Illinois State will not make regionals this year, but some individuals will be waiting through the weekend to see if they made the cut. Angelica Labat is pretty well locked at the moment. Jaye Mack and Anna Kaziska are currently tied with a 9.900 NQS on floor and are slated to advance as well. TWU will be the front runner heading into USAG nationals after its victory today. Considering Texas Woman’s has been scoring more consistently at home than on the road this season, will the Pioneers be able to replicate this performance at Cornell in three weeks time? Lindenwood will be out for redemption at nationals. Don’t expect the Lions to let the gap get quite that large next time out. The team total tonight moved the Lions tentatively into the second spot in the USAG, just above Air Force. The Falcons have yet to have their conference championship, so time will tell if that ranking will hold. SEMO will enter nationals ranked No. 5. Technically, that makes the Redhawks on the outside looking in for those teams expected to advance to the final. Figuring out the bars situation will be a must if there’s any chance of SEMO being in the final with a chance to defend its national title. Centenary’s individuals will have to wait until the end of the GEC championship to know for sure who will advance to USAGs. Tentatively, qualifiers are Kendall Sanders (AA), Kendall Huff (VT) and Taylor Ann Wilson (UB). 

Records: A six-year conference winning streak was snapped. TWU had a duo of career highs with Mara Johnson’s 9.850 on bars and Alix Pierce’s event-title-tying 9.875 on floor. 

Controversies: The judging at this meet was sporadic to say the least with lack of score differentiation between routines. Ultimately the team winner was correct based purely on the gymnastics, so it all came out in the wash. Anna Kaziska’s 9.700 on beam could’ve easily been higher and land her on the podium. 

Conference Awards

• Gymnast of the Year: Angelica Labat (ISU)
• Senior Athlete of the Year: Anna Kaziska (SEMO)
• Newcomer of the Year: Alana Laster (ISU)
• Woman of the Year: Isabel Goyco (TWU)
• Sylvia Keiter Memorial Award: Makenzie Marciniak (SEMO)
• Coach of the Year: Bob Conkling (ISU)
• Assistant Coach of the Year: Kristen Harrold (TWU)

Preview

• No. 49 Illinois State, 195.230 NQS, 195.875 season high
• No. 50 Texas Woman’s, 194.995 NQS, 195.725 season high
• No. 54 Lindenwood, 194.555 NQS, 195.475 season high
• No. 59 S.E. Missouri, 193.625 NQS, 194.200 season high
• No. 72 Centenary, 187.690 NQS, 191.575 season high

If you can only watch one meet, here’s why it should be this one…

Luckily the MIC championship is the only conference meet taking place on Friday night, so you have no excuses not to watch. There are three teams that have a realistic chance of walking away with the title this year: Illinois State, TWU and Lindenwood. All three teams have a season high in the mid-195s. However, no one has escaped 2022 without a low meet or two due to inconsistency. That makes this conference championship that much more interesting, as the team who can hit when it counts will capture the title. Illinois State comes in as the front runner, but the team also entered the 2021 championship as the No. 1 seed at home and did not quite get the job done. Lindenwood will look to earn its seventh-straight conference championship. 

If this is one of many meets you’ll be watching, don’t miss this…

Lindenwood’s and Illinois State’s vault rotations are can’t-miss gymnastics. The top-three vaulters in the conference, Angelica Labat, Gayla Griswold and Alana Laster, all sport sky-high Yurchenko one and a halves. Griswold’s has gone as high as 9.975 this season. The reigning MIC vault champion J’Chelle Heard is also featured in the Illinois State vault rotation, so don’t blink. The race for the vault title is going to be a close one. TWU’s Madeline Gose and Isabel Goyco are a duo to keep an eye on. Both are strong floor performers who have gone over 9.900 this season. Traditionally, both rise to the occasion in the postseason. If you’re interested in some unique skills, look for Jolie Miller on bars. She does an Ezhova that is very rarely seen in NCAA gymnastics, and she earned a share of the SEMO program record on bars at the end of February. Centenary’s Taylor Ann Wilson came away with the 2021 USAG national title after not competing during the regular season. This will be her first time competing at MICs. Will she be able to rise to the challenge yet again on the big stage? 

What’s the bigger picture to keep an eye on?

Despite a strong 2022 season, ISU is already mathematically out of the team regionals picture. However, individuals are still vying for a regional berth of their own, including Angelica Labat and Jaye Mack. This competition will also be a preview of the fast-approaching USAG national championships. SEMO, Lindenwood and TWU have earned one of the last three national titles. Whoever comes out on top will have a confidence boost heading into USAGs. 

By the Numbers

Past Champions

• Illinois State: 2 titles, last won in 2012
• Texas Woman’s: 2 titles, last won in 2010
• Lindenwood: 6 titles, last won in 2021
• S.E. Missouri: 6 titles, last won in 2014
• Centenary: 0 titles

Records Watch

• Team: 196.575 (UIC, 2003) 
• Vault: 49.500 (Lindenwood, 2015) 
• Bars: 49.425 (UIC, 1997) 
• Beam: 49.375 (SEMO, 2003) 
• Floor: 49.575 (TWU, 2015)

Last Time Out

After entering the meet as the second seed, Lindenwood snuck away with its sixth consecutive conference title on the back of a season high performance. The individual titles went to J’Chelle Heard on vault (9.875), Sofia Iribarren on bars (9.900), Madeline Gose on beam (9.925) and the trio of Gayla Griswold, Aleah Leman and Madeline Gose on floor (9.875). Angelica Labat of Illinois State was the all-around champion. All but Leman are in the field for the 2022 championship.