Normal, Ill. - The Centenary gymnastics team placed fifth at the 2021 Midwest Independent Conference Championship on Friday at Redbird Arena.
The Ladies, ranked 53rd in the country in the latest Road to Nationals rankings, and are the highest ranked division III team in the country, finished with an overall team score of 188.725. Lindenwood claimed the team title with a score of 195.575, host Illinoi State placed second with a score of 195.225, Southeast Missouri State was third (194.825), and Texas Woman's University finished fourth (193.450).
Two Ladies earned All-MIC Second Team recognition on Friday as each finished fourth through sixth (including ties) in their individual event. Ladies' Junior All-American Kendall Sanders (Spring Branch, Texas) placed fourth in the all-around with a score of 38.650 to earn all-around second team honors and also earned second-team recognition on floor with a 9.700. She also earned a 9.625 on bars, a 9.675 on vault, and a 9.650 on beam. Sophomore Kendall Huff (Riviera, Texas) earned All-MIC Second Team honors on vault with new career-high 9.800. Huff's previous career high was a 9.750 on Feb. 13 at the Metroplex Challenge.
Sophomore Leilani Johnson (Wichita, Kan.) scored a new career-high 9.650 on vault and fellow sophomore Lauryn Stiff (Branson, Mo.) nearly matched her career high on vault as she finished with a 9.600. She previously had a 9.625 at the Metroplex Challenge last month. Freshman Isabel Plaza (San Antonio, Texas) set a new career high on vault with a 9.575.
Senior Jenny Jackson (Monticello, Fla.) had the Ladies' second best score of the meet on bars with a 9.475. Fellow senior Sierra Ponder (Stone Mountain, Ga.) had a 9.150 on bars, junior Kendall Knaps (Prairieville, La.) had a 9.050, and junior Xian Baumgartner (Albuquerque, N.M.) had an 8.850. Senior Jerrica Harris (Memphis, Tenn.) earned a 9.550 on beam, Ponder earned a season best 9.450 on beam, and sophomore Kennedy Stephens (Bella Vista, Ark.) finished with a 9.275 on beam. Freshman Rylie Molina (Moss Bluff, La.) earned a 9.200 on beam. Harris earned a 9.625 on floor, Jackson posted a season-best 9.500, Johnson had a 9.425, and Huff earned an 8.900.
The Ladies' strong performance on vault collectively earned them their best event score (48.300) of the meet, and a season-high mark, followed by a 47.150 on floor, a 47.125 on beam, and a 46.150 on bars. Ponder was named MIC Senior Athlete of the Year following the meet.
Angelica Labat of Illinois State won the all-around with a score of 39.175, SEMO's Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso placed second (39.150), Labat's teammate, Isabelle Fox, finished third (38.875), and SEMO's Molly Maxwell was fifth with a 37.700.
Centenary had an impressive 16 MIC Scholar-Athletes announced at the meet. These impressive student-athletes earned a 3.25 GPA or higher, including nine with perfect 4.0 GPA's. The complete list of names with GPA's is below:
Rose Deshler 4.0
Jerrica Harris 3.66
Kendall Huff 4.0
Jenny Jackson 4.0
Leilani Johnson 3.5
Kendall Knaps 4.0
Madison Mccary 4.0
Roxanne Myers 3.43
Isabel Plaza 3.75
Sierra Ponder 3.25
Kendall Sanders 4.0
Kennedy Stephens 4.0
Lauryn Stiff 3.5
Courtney Tripp 4.0
Lacey Wedge 3.66
The Ladies will wait to see if they have any individuals qualify for the NCAA Regional, as the field will be announced on Monday, March 22, live at 4 p.m. CT on NCAA.com.
Complete results of the meet: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=345609
Centenary's complete 2021 schedule can be found here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/gymnastics/2020-21/schedule.
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