St. Charles, Mo. – The Centenary gymnastics team will compete in the GymQuarters Mardi Gras Invitational on Friday against host school Southeast Missouri State and Seattle Pacific in a meet set for 2 p.m. at the Family Arena.
Live video via FloGymnastics is available for Friday's meet at the following link: http://bit.ly/2HkOwTH.
The Ladies, the highest ranked team in division III in the country in the latest Road to Nationals rankings, are ranked 67th overall among all teams nationwide covering division I, II, and III. Centenary is coming off of a home victory over Winona State last Sunday by a score of 191.050-186.900. The Ladies' average meet score this season is 187.610 and they earned a season-high score of 191.650 on Feb. 7 at home against Texas Woman's University, which was the Ladies' fifth-highest score since 2013 when they finished third at Nationals.
Friday's host school and division 1 member Southeast Missouri, a fellow Midwest Independent Conference partner of Centenary's, currently ranks 61st nationally while Seattle Pacific is ranked 60th and competes in division II.
The Ladies had several superb individual performances in Sunday's victory over Winona State. Senior Cami Bea Austin (Memphis, Tenn.) won the vault competition with a score of 9.725. She placed third on the vault with a career-high score of 9.80 in Friday's meet. The Ladies finished first through third in the vault as freshman Leilani Johnson (Wichita, Kan.) placed second with a career personal best score of 9.625, just two days after setting her previous best score on Feb. 7 against Texas Woman's with a 9.60.
Freshman Kendall Huff (Riviera, Texas) finished third in the vault with a score of 9.575. The Ladies also claimed the top three places in the bars, as sophomore Xian Baumgartner (Albuquerque, N.M.) won the event with a score of 9.60, Junior Sierra Ponder (Stone Mountain, Ga.) finished second with a score of 9.575, and junior Jenny Jackson (Monticello, Fla.) finished third with a score of 9.525.
Centenary did well in the beam as Baumgartner placed second with a score of 9.75, Austin third with a 9.65, and sophomore Kendall Sanders (Spring Branch, Texas) fourth and junior Jerrica Harris (Memphis, Tenn.) and sophomore Kendall Knaps (Prairieville, La.) tied for fifth with a score of 9.50. Austin claimed the floor title with a score of 9.825 while Johnson (9.75/career personal best score), Knaps (9.70), and Jackson (9.675) finished second through fourth. Sanders won the All-Around with a score of 36.575 on Sunday after placing second against TWU with a career-high score of 38.525.
The Ladies wrap up the weekend with a quad meet against host and division II member Lindenwood (ranked 48th in country), Seattle Pacific, and Gustavus Adolphus at Hyland Arena in St. Charles on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 1 p.m. Live video via FloGymnastics is available for Sunday's meet at: https://glvcsn.com/lindenwood/?bfplayvid=170540
Centenary's final home meet of the season will be held on Sunday, March 1 against Southeast Missouri State at 2 p.m.
Live stats and live video are available for all home meets and admission is FREE to all Centenary home athletic events.
#GoCentenary #CTheOpportunity
