ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Lindenwood gymnastics took home gold at the Midwest Independence Conference Championships inside Hyland Arena on Saturday with an overall team score of 196.075. It marked the seventh overall MIC Championship for the Lions in their 12-year history.
"What a storybook ending in Hyland for this team and this program," said head coach Catelyn Branson. "This team believed al the way down to the last routine. Proud of each and every one of our athletes and coaches. Our legacy shined bring tonight! Excited to continue the momentum on to USAG Nationals."
TEAM STANDINGS
- Lindenwood - 196.075
- Texas Woman's - 195.875
- Illinois State - 195.100
- SEMO - 194.275
- Centenary - 188.550
LINDENWOOD'S TOP PERFORMERS
INSIDE THE SCORES
- After selecting to start on vault at the awards banquet on Friday, the Lions opened the MIC Championships with a team score of 49.975. Reese Baechle and Gayla Griswold led the way for the Lions on vault with a 9.825 which ranked seventh at the meet. It marked Griswold's first meet in just over a month and marked her final meet in an accomplished Lindenwood career. Baechle's performance tied her second highest score in 2024.
- The Lions had a bye during the second rotation, but returned to the mat where they competed on bars and finished with a team score of 48.550. Nya Kraus started her exceptional day with a 9.875 on bars which was her highest in the last six meets. She finished in first on bars taking home All-MIC First Team honors. Hannah Appleget (9.825) and Hannah Moon (9.800) finished in second and third and also claimed All-MIC first team.
- Lindenwood then moved on the beam where they set a season-best team score of 49.275 which narrowed the gap heading into the final rotation of the meet. Kraus again led the Lions with a 9.900 finishing in second and garnering another first team All-MIC selection. Her score of 9.900 also tied her season/career high. Jaidan Kossuth stepped up big time for the Lions on beam setting a personal-best of 9.875 and finishing in a tie for fourth. She earned All-MIC second team on beam. Moon and Madison Rush also had big performances on beam posting a 9.850 ranking eighth.
- Trailing heading into floor, the Lions managed to post a 49.275 team score pushing them just over Texas Woman's to claim their seventh MIC Championship. Baechle and Jaly Jones' performances both earned a 9.000 which ranked first at the meet and set them up to earn All-MIC First Team honors. Kraus also finished with a 9.875 on floor giving her another All-MIC honors this time on second team. For Baechle, it said a career high on floor. Jones also finished with an all-around score of 39.125 which ranked first out of six AA scores.
- Lindenwood ended their 2024 regular season as MIC Champions for the seventh time in their 12-year history, the most in that span of any MIC school. The Lions also had the highest beam and floor score on Saturday.
WHAT'S NEXT
Lindenwood will host the Midwest Independence Conference Championships next weekend inside Hyland Arena on Saturday, March 23rd starting at 5:00 p.m. CT. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.
