Cyclones score 196.075 in Fayetteville, Arkansas

FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas- The Iowa State gymnastics team put up their second highest road score this season with a 196.075 at Barnhill Arena on Friday Night. The score will pay dividends in helping their RQS, as they drop a 195.575 heading into the post season. ISU now moves to 18-6 on the year after falling to No. 11 Arkansas (197.300) and No. 15 Denver (196.725).

Iowa State did not start the way they wanted to in the first rotation but bounced back with a great floor performance, scoring a 49.325. Senior Haylee Young achieved a new milestone in her career scoring a new career-high 9.950. Young shared the event title on floor, while Meaghan Sievers placed second on vault.

"We came back from the first rotation with some fire," Ronayne said. "That's what I expected from this team and that was wonderful. They delivered some routines that were some of the best they have done so far this year. We did really well for the rest of the meet."

"We are opening on beam in the Big 12 Championships," Ronayne continued, "We have to just come out with the same fire and not picking it up on the second rotation. That's the mission for the team right now and that's what we're going to be focusing on all week."

Floor

Iowa State was terrific on floor tonight with a score of 49.325. Haylee Young recorded a new career high with a score of 9.950. Briana Ledesma had one of her best outings of the year after tying her season high score of 9.900. Kelsey Paz also tied her season best with a score of 9.875. Meaghan Sievers had a solid routine tallying a 9.825. Freshman Ariana Orrego put up a score of 9.775 and Molly Russ rounded out the group with a 9.675.

Senior Haylee Young

"I was just really excited because my team just set me up in the anchor spot. They did amazing and watching them got me really fired up. I knew before I went there was possibility I could do that, but I tried not to think about it too much. I tried to think about more landing tall without moving and it came together for me."

Uneven Bars

The Cyclones ended the night on bars with a 49.075. Madeline Johnson, Laura Burns, Kelsey Paz and Haylee Young all tallied 9.825s. Burns made a return to the lineup and matched a career high with her 9.825. Kelsey Paz has been great on bars the past two meets scoring a 9.875 and 9.825, respectively. Hilary Green closed for Iowa State and ended with a 9.775. Iowa State was able to drop the fall from Meaghan Sievers.

Vault

The Cyclones went 48.900 on vault in the meet. Meaghan Sievers placed second in the meet with a 9.875. ISU got 9.850's from both Sophia Steinmeyer and Haylee Young. Kelsey Paz added a 9.725 to tonight's effort. Kelly Martin got herself a 9.700 and Briana Ledesma scored a 9.675.

Head Coach Jay Ronayne

"The scores may not reflect it, but we had some pretty good vaults. Pretty representative of what we've been doing all year. We had a great vault week and keep this thing rolling. "

Balance Beam

The Cyclones finished with a 48.775 for the evening. Haylee Young led ISU with a 9.850. Kelsey Paz got her original score 9.775 changed to a 9.825. Meaghan Sievers tallied a 9.775. ISU had a pair of 9.675s from Ariana Orrego and Casandra Diaz. Molly Russ rounded out Iowa State with a score of 9.625.

All Around

Haylee Young took third place tonight. Kelsey Paz again scored a 39.250 for the second meet in a row and Sievers recorded a 38.800 as Iowa State's third all-arounder.

Up Next

Iowa State will be hosting the Big 12 Championships next weekend on Saturday, March 4. The Cyclones will welcome No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 15 Denver and West Virginia to Hilton Coliseum for the meet beginning at 4 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Laura Burns

Casandra Diaz

Hilary Green

Madeline Johnson

Briana Ledesma

Kelly Martin

Ariana Orrego

Kelsey Paz

Molly Russ

Meaghan Sievers

Sophia Steinmeyer

Haylee Young

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