NORMAL, Ill. - Lindenwood gymnastics head to Normal, Ill. on Saturday, March 16th at 4:00 p.m. CT to compete against Illinois State and Michigan State. This will be Lindenwood's last regular season competition before postseason competition.

Last Meet Recap
Lindenwood gymnastics placed third at the Ameritas Master's Classic hosted by Nebraska. The Lions finished with a score of 196.325 which marks their second highest of the season.

Hannah Moon was electric on bars posting a career-high mark of 9.925 finishing in second overall during the meet. Moon posted the highest score of any Lindenwood athlete at Nebraska and finished with her top score this season. She also finished tied for 10th on beam with a score of 9.825.

Reese Baechle also had a solid night in Lincoln, posting a team-high score of 9.900 on vault which also ranked tied for third. It marks the second highest vault score this season by an LU athlete and marks Baechle's season high. She also tied for 14th on floor with a 9.800.

Hannah Appleget and Jaly Jones were the two all-around finishers for the Lions in Lincoln as they finished in sixth and seventh place respectively. Appleget's score of 39.225 was her highest AA score of the season. Her best individual performance was on bars with a 9.850.

Jones's score was her second highest all-around score of the season. Her best performance was on floor with a 9.850. · Nya Kraus also made an impact with her scoring a 9.850 on beam to lead the Lions. She would finish tied for sixth in that event followed by two Lions who scored a 9.825. Kraus also scored a 9.825 on both floor and bars.

The Lions as a team posted a team high score of 49.225 on bars which was their best score of the season. They had five gymnasts finish with a score over a 9.800. Lindenwood's second best score was on beam which was a 49.100 (second best score this season.). The Lions also scored a 49.025 on floor and a 48.975 on vault.

Head Coach: Catelyn Branson 
Catelyn Branson was named the gymnastics head coach in July of 2021, and will enter her third season with Lindenwood in 2023-24. Orel is just the third head coach in program history. The Lindenwood gymnastics team saw continued success in 2023, earning the top-seed at the MIC Championships, finishing in second place. Lindenwood took home the USAG National Championship for the first time since 2019.

In her first season, the Lindenwood gymnastics team had yet another successful campaign, earning third at USAG nationals and advancing a student-athlete to NCAA nationals. Griswold became the first Lion in program history to qualify for the national event, as the junior capped her season on the vault in Fort Worth, Texas.

Branson comes to Lindenwood after serving two seasons on the staff at the University of Arkansas. She competed as a student-athlete at the University of Nebraska from 2015-19. As a member of the Nebraska gymnastics program, Branson was named academic all-Big Ten twice, and earned scholar-athlete honor roll four times.

Up Next
The Lions will compete in the MIC Championships, which will be hosted on Saturday, March 23rd. The Lions won't have to travel as the Championships will take place in St. Charles at Hyland Arena.