The 2018 Midwest Independent Conference (MIC) Gymnastics Championships will be held this Friday at 6 p.m. at Hyland Arena. It is the first time that Lindenwood has hosted the conference meet, and the Lady Lions are looking to tie a conference record with their fourth straight MIC crown.
 
Overview:
The MIC is one of 13 conferences in NCAA gymnastics. It is unique in that it includes schools from all three levels of the NCAA. The conference includes NCAA Division I programs UIC, Illinois State, and Southeast Missouri, NCAA Division II teams Lindenwood and Texas Woman's, and NCAA Division III Centenary.
 
History:
The MIC was created in 1991, with Southeast Missouri winning the first conference championship. UIC has been the biggest power in the conference, winning 12 of the 28 MIC titles. The Flames captured nine of the 11 championships between 1998-2008. Included in that stretch was four straight titles from 2002-2005, a streak that Lindenwood is trying to tie this year. Southeast Missouri is second with six conference titles, including three since 2009. Illinois State and Texas Woman's have each won two championships, with Texas Woman's last winning in 2010, and Illinois State capturing the 2012 title.
 
Lindenwood's History:
Lindenwood has been a member of the MIC since its inaugural season in 2013. The Lady Lions finished fifth in their first year, and jumped up to third in 2014. In 2015, Lindenwood built a lead on the floor and vault, and then held on in the final rotation for its first MIC title by 0.050 points. The Lady Lions also won the 2016 and 2017 MIC Championships, both by over half a point.
 
Individually, Lindenwood has won four titles in five seasons. In 2015, the Lady Lions captured three of those championships, led by Valeri Ingui who won the all-around title with a score of 39.400. Courtney Heise won both the vault (9.950) and bars (9.900) championships that year. Last season, Kierstin Sokolowski won the beam title with a score of 9.850. Lindenwood has won 37 all-conference honors for finishing among the top-six finishers, including 23 first-team honors for placing in the top-three.
 
2017 MIC Championships:
Last year's MIC Championships was held in Chicago, Ill. at the UIC Pavilion. Lindenwood scored a 194.675, finishing ahead of Texas Woman's who scored a 194.000. Illinois State was third, followed by UIC, Southeast Missouri, and Centenary.
 
Southeast Missouri's Alexis Brawner won the all-around title with a score of 39.225, and she also captured the vault title with a 9.900. Other individual winners were Illinois State's Anna Marema with a 9.875 on the bars, Lindenwood's Sokolowski with a 9.850 on the beam, and Illinois State's Gabrielle Cooke with a 9.925 on the floor.
 
Perfect 10s:
There have been three perfect 10 scores in MIC Championship history. All three came during the 1995 championship, which was won by UIC. Northern Illinois' Margaret Mroz was flawless on the floor, while Illinois State's Wendy Lahucik and Southeast Missouri's Kale Farrington had perfect scores on the vault.
 
Other MIC records are a 9.950 on the bars, which are held by UIC's Emily McKee (1997) and Alyson Cacciatore (2003), and a 9.975 on the beam, set by Southeast Missouri's Ashley Godwin (2003). Godwin also holds the all-around record with a 39.550 in 2003, and the highest team score was 196.575, which was set by UIC in 2003.
 
2018 Team Standings:
Lindenwood will enter the MIC Championships as the top-ranked team in the MIC. The Lady Lions have a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 195.030. Texas Woman's and UIC are close behind with scores of 194.540 and 194.385, respectively, and neither of those squads have lost to a MIC team this season. Southeast Missouri enters the tournament in fourth in the MIC with a score of 192.640, just ahead of Illinois State (192.465) and Centenary (190.225).
 
Texas Woman's is the conference's top team on the vault with a score of 48.845. UIC is the conference leader on the bars with a 48.805. Lindenwood takes first-place team honors on the beam with a score of 48.870, and on the floor with a mark of 48.800.
 
Gymnasts To Watch:
Navia Jordan, Centenary
Navia Jordan has competed on the beam and floor this season for Centenary. On the floor, she ranks in the top-10 in the MIC with a 9.775 RQS
 
Mikailla Northern, UIC
Mikailla Northern will enter as one the favorites for the all-around title at the MIC Championships. She has six all-around scores over 39 this season, including in her last four meets. She also ranks third in the MIC on the vault, seventh on the bars, sixth on the beam, and fourth on the floor.
 
Gabrielle Cooke, Illinois State
Gabrielle Cooke is the defending MIC Champion on the floor, and has been the second-ranked floor gymnast in the conference this season with a 9.870 RQS. Cooke is second in the MIC in the all-around, and seventh on the vault.
 
Kierstin Sokolowski, Lindenwood
Kierstin Sokolowski is the defending MIC Champion on the beam. She enters the championships this year ranked first on the vault with a 9.835 RQS, and tied for first on the beam with a 9.835 RQS. She is a six-time MIC all-conference honoree in two previous MIC Championships.
 
Alexis Brawner, Southeast Missouri
Alexis Brawner is the defending MIC all-around and vault champion. This season, Brawner is competing in just three events, and she ranks fourth in the MIC on the vault and bars, and leads the MIC with a 9.890 RQS on the floor.
 
Schyler Jones, Texas Woman's
Schyler Jones will be another name to watch in the all-around race, as she enters the MIC meet ranked third with a 38.905 RQS. She is also ranked second on the vault, third on the beam, and third on the floor competition.
 
Up Next:
Besides deciding the conference title, the MIC Championships is also the final opportunity for gymnasts to improve their score for NCAA regional qualifying. The NCAA Regionals Championships will take place on April 7. Lindenwood and Texas Woman's will also have postseason action at the USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate National Championships on April 13-15 in Denton, Texas.