Cyclones Take First In Final Home Meet

AMES, Iowa – In their final home meet of the season, the Iowa State gymnastics team competed against Illinois State and Gustavus Adolphus in Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones won the meet with a score of 195.625. Illinois State finished second with a 192.700, and Gustavus Adolphus finished third with a score of 186.275.

The Cyclones were led by Haylee Young, who earned first place in three events in the tri-meet. Young and sophomore Meaghan Sievers dazzled everyone in attendance on vault, tying for first place in the meet, and both earning their season-high scores. Sievers also earned the Mari-Rae Sopper Outstanding Performance Award at tonight's meet.

"We weren't as sharp as we need to be this time of year," head coach Jay Ronayne said. "It's a grind being in competition every weekend. By week seven it starts beating up the body, and we expect to see the effects of that. But I didn't expect them to be a little bit today. We're going to regroup and get ready for the final push in these last few weeks."

Vault
Iowa State started the meet on vault, earning an overall score of 48.875 on the event. Haylee Young and Meaghan Sievers led the way for the Cyclones, both scoring a 9.850. With her score on vault, Sievers set her season-high. Young also tied her season-high on the event. Also scoring for Iowa State were Kelly Martin and MJ Johnson, both earning themselves a score of 9.750. Kelsey Paz rounded out the scoring for the Cyclones on the event, earning a score of 9.650.

"Overall we did really well on vault," Sievers said. "We still have a few sticks we need to get, but I really think those will come later this season."

Uneven Bars
Junior Briana Ledesma led the way for the Cyclones on their second rotation of the meet, earning herself a score of 9.825. The next highest scorers for Iowa State were Young and Johnson. They both earned a 9.800 on the event, with Johnson setting her career-high with a strong performance. Kelsey Paz was one of four Cyclones to stick their landing on the event, earning a 9.775. Also scoring for Iowa State was Hilary Green, who also earned a score of 9.775. Overall, the Cyclones earned a score of 48.975 on the event.

"We had an uncharacteristic fall from Briana Ledesma," Ronayne stated. "It's so rare for her to miss the skill that she did, that may have been only the third time that she's missed it in months. It's going to happen once in a meet. I was very please with how the team responded, we were able to pull out some great routines after that."

Balance Beam
The Cyclones had a solid team performance on the balance beam, earning a team score of 48.900. Haylee Young led the way for Iowa State, dazzling both her teammates and the crowd with a nearly flawless routine, which earned her a score of 9.900. Following her was Cassandra Diaz, who earned a 9.825 on the event. Paz was next for the Cyclones with a score of 9.775. Rounding out the scoring for Iowa State were Sydney Converse and Sievers, who earned scores of 9.725 and 9.675, respectively.

"It was really exciting to hit a 9.900 tonight," Young said. "I think it's my only 9.900 on beam, and it's always exciting to hit a solid beam routine because it's such a challenging event. I was also really proud of the rest of the beam team"

Floor Exercise
Young led the Cyclones on the floor exercise, just missing her season-high score of 9.900 by earning a 9.875. Ledesma followed with a score of 9.850. Coming in with the next highest score was Green, who hit a nice routine to earn a 9.800. Middlekoop recorded a 9.700, and Paz rounded out the scoring for the Cyclones with a 9.650.

"l thought we had a really good chance at getting a great score tonight," associate head coach Katie Minasola stated. "We just made a few more mistakes than we usually do, but I think that the girls are charged up and ready to go for next week."

All-Around
Juniors Young and Paz both competed in the all-around competition. Young finished the meet in first place with her season-high score of 39.425. Paz earned third place with a score of 38.875.

Up Next
The Cyclones will be on the road for the reminder of the season. They will next compete on Sunday, Feb. 26 when they travel to West Virginia to compete in a tri-meet. They will take on No. 25 West Virginia and Maryland at WVU Coliseum at noon central time.

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Players Mentioned

Sydney Converse

Hilary Green

Briana Ledesma

Kelly Martin

Kelsey Paz

Meaghan Sievers

Haylee Young

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics