Iowa State University Athletics
Previewing a New Era of Cyclone Gymnastics
01.03.2024 | Gymnastics
The 2024 Iowa State gymnastics season kicks off this Friday, January 5, when the Cyclones welcome Nebraska to Hilton Coliseum for the first meet of the Ashley Miles Greig Era.
Miles Greig, a former four-time NCAA champion, was named the eighth coach in the history of the Iowa State women's gymnastics program last April and has hit the ground running since. Entering her first season as a head coach, Miles Greig is looking to return Iowa State gymnastics to where she knows it can be.
"It's hard for me to believe that we're so close to the start of our season," says Miles Greig. "I can't wait to be in Hilton with this team and allow them the opportunity to show our fans what we've been working on. This team is not a team that is 44th In the country. Last year was an anomaly and we're ready to work back to where we know we should be."
The Staff
After a down 2023, Iowa State turned to Coach Miles Greig in hopes of helping the program get back on track. Since being hired, Coach Greig announced the hires of three staff members.
Haylee Young, a former ISU gymnast, returned to the Cyclones as an assistant coach and will enter her tenth year with the program. Young will handle beam and floor while also taking the lead on floor choreography.
"I've seen the NCAA and Iowa State gymnastics change significantly in the last ten years," says Young. "I think the competitiveness across the nation has risen. As for us, a big change has just been the ramp-up in competitiveness in the gym. For a while, things got a little bit complacent with being comfortable in either their lineup spots or the way we trained. Now, every spot is up for grabs, and it's competitive every single day."
Ryan Snider enters his first season with the Cyclone program as an assistant coach, following a six-year stint as an assistant coach at Pittsburgh. Snider, the most experienced coach of the group, oversees both vault and bars with Iowa State.
"I like our staff and what we have here is pretty amazing," says Snider. "What we share, common thoughts, philosophies, goals. Everything that we do, day in and day out, is for the betterment of these girls and this program."
The final addition to the staff, Tory Cohen, serves as the team's Director of Operations. She worked as a student manager with the Florida Gators gymnastics program and spent last winter as Florida's assistant to the director of operations.
The staff feels the team is in a good place mentally. The day-to-day work has been filled with attaining a competition mindset. A big message that was stressed to the gymnasts was helping them feel comfortable being uncomfortable.
Coach Snider says, "We've really prepped them well by doing a lot of pressure, a lot of intrasquads. I think they are overly prepared now and I think walking into a meet will be so much easier than what we've put them through this preseason."
The Roster
The Cyclones return 13 student-athletes from last season's roster and bring in six freshmen. Among the returners are a pair of fifth-year seniors Loganne Basuel and Laura Cooke. The staff is high on junior Hannah Loyim, an all-around performer who has the ability to crack all four lineups.
When asked about Loyim, Miles Greig says, "There's something about your junior year in college gymnastics. It's the year everything kind of comes together. You're settled, you can consider yourself experienced, and your confidence is building up and getting to a level where that shows in your gymnastics. She definitely is at that point."
Another gymnast Coach Greig mentioned is senior Ana Irene Palacios. "She's that quiet, confident presence. She's somebody that goes all out every day. I think she'll have a really good year in her senior season and go out with a bang."
Coach Young mentions both Josie Bergstrom and Lauren Thomas as gymnasts she's excited to continue to build with. She also mentions that Madelyn Manternach, who missed last season with an injury, is set to make her appearance this season. "Madelyn brings energy and light to the gym every day as well as her work ethic and determination will help her make those lineups," says Young.
A recurring theme from the staff was the strength of the freshman class. Noelle Adams, Ella Schell and Paige Wills were all mentioned multiple times. When asked about the first-years, Coach Greig says, "Noelle for sure is going to shine. Her gymnastics is very clean and beautiful. She'll be someone as a freshman who can come in here and score big." Continuing, Greig touched on Schell, saying, "Ella has the right mentality for this sport in college. She's someone that progressively has gotten better, and I think we'll see her contribute quite a bit in the season."
Assistant coach Ryan Sinder brings up Wills when speaking about the bars, saying, "Paige, even though a freshman, has huge scoring potential – she's got beautiful lines."
Event Outlook
Vault
When asked about this year's vault, Coach Snider says it will be one of the strongest events for the Cyclones. "Everyone that you see compete on vault will have really high scoring potential," says Snider. "Kaia Parker can probably max out at a 9.95, which is basically a perfect 10 for the vault that she does. Emilie Hong is our lonesome '10.0' vault."
Bars
Conversely, Snider says that bars will be the event where the Cyclones will grow the most during the season. "Loganne (Basuel) and (Laura) Cooke bring that level of experience, which is great in that event." He continues, "Hannah has made tremendous strides this preseason and has stepped into our anchor position. (Lauren) Thomas too, another huge improvement throughout the preseason. Ella and Ana are solid kids, too."
Beam
When speaking on this season's beam event, Coach Young points out that there'll be some new faces on the event. Hannah and Lauren (Thomas) are athletes she's excited to see compete. "We are fortunate to have depth on beam which has driven competitiveness throughout the preseason," says Young. "It has been difficult to narrow down the top six, which is a testament to the potential we have on this event."
Floor
On floor, Young says a bit of the same – that there will be new faces making impacts. Hannah and Noelle have been great in the preseason and figure to be bright spots for the team, along with the tenured Cooke.
"Iowa State fans and Cyclone Nation ... they're going to like what they see from this team, and we're going to give them something that they can be proud of." - @AshleyMGreig #TAPin 🌪️ pic.twitter.com/joF5enerTx
— Iowa State Gymnastics (@CycloneGYM) January 4, 2024
Players Mentioned
