Shealy Named Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State gymnast Michelle Shealy was named the 2014 Big 12 Gymnastics Scholar Athlete of the Year, the league office announced on Tuesday. Shealy, a senior in elementary education, was selected for the honor by the conference coaches.

"This kind of sums up who she is," head coach Jay Ronayne said. "She is a tremendous athlete and a tremendous young lady who is very committed to academics, as well as everything else she does."

The Snellville, Ga. native is no stranger to success in the classroom, having also received the Conference's highest honor earlier this year, the Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award. Shealy is also a three-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team honoree, who boasts a GPA of 3.85. She is also a four-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll.

Shealy has also excelled in the arena of competition as a Cyclone. She qualified for the NCAA Championships in both 2011 and 2013 in the all-around and earned First Team All-America honors in 2013 with a fifth place finish on balance beam. It was the highest individual finish on beam in school history.

Shealy, a team captain, closed her senior season by helping the Cyclones qualify for NCAA Regionals for the eighteenth-consecutive year. Iowa State took third at the Baton Rouge, La. regional with a team score of 196.350. It was the program's highest score at a regional competition since 2003.