Southeast gymnastics team caps season with conference crown

~ The Redhawks won the MIC championship for the first time since 2011

Southeast Missouri State gymnastics coach Kristi Ewasko had a solid idea of what her team would need to score when it headed to its final event of the Midwest Independent Conference Championship if it was going to claim the title on Saturday.

That final event happened to be the balance beam, which has been the Redhawks' shakiest event throughout the season.

"Our first two girls went up and fell, so a little bit of panic happening right then and there," Ewasko said. "But we talked to the last four on beam and just encouraged and reminded them of what they truly are capable of, and they did that."

Southeast scored high enough on the beam to finish with a season-high score of 195.275 to win the MIC Championship for the first time since 2011.

"I actually knew right away that we had won, but that's not how we tell the team and so the team didn't find out until the rest of the teams found out, and their faces were priceless," Ewasko said. "There was a lot of smiles, a few tears, and that's when as a coach you realize what they are capable of and what they do, and it's just all about them and the work and the effort they've put into this."

Texas Woman's was second with a score of 194.500 and Lindenwood was third with 194.250. Illinois-Chicago finished in fourth, Illinois State was fifth and Centenary was sixth.

The Redhawks scored a 49.000 on the floor exercise in their first event of the night. Freshman Chelsi Hamilton tied for first with a score of 9.850.

Freshman Bailey Walker and senior Megan Fosnow both scored 9.800 to finish tied for third.

Freshman Ashley Thomas and senior Kimmie Pickerl shared the win on the vault with a score of 9.825. The Redhawks scored 48.850 on the event.

Southeast claimed a school record 49.250 in the uneven bars, and senior Taryn Vanderpool and freshman Lauren Israel tied for first in the event with scores of 9.900.

Ewasko said that the uneven bars had been a fairly strong event for the Redhawks all season, so they focused on perfecting the details leading up to Saturday's meet.

"The last, really, three to four weeks of training we really narrowed in on those little deductions -- the steps on the landings, the handstands, the legs staying together, the legs staying straight, everything that was adding up to deductions. And tonight they put it together," Ewasko said. "I think we had one missed handstand out of the entire night. ... It was just overall the best gymnastics on bars we've done all season, and it was just awesome to see our training really take hold in competition."

Southeast finished with a 48.075 on the balance beam. Thomas and freshman Alyssa Tucker tied for third in the event with a 9.800.

Tucker tied for third in the all-around results with a 39.000.

An excited Ewasko couldn't name just one person or event that stood out to her in the victory.

"Overall tonight was definitely a team effort," Ewasko said. "We had so many great routines, and I'm so proud of each and every one of them for fighting for those spots."

Tucker was named Newcomer of the Year while assistant coach Sarah Shire-Brown was named the conference's Assistant Coach of the Year.

While Southeast did not qualify for an NCAA regional as a team, Tucker and Vanderpool could still qualify in the all-around.

Regional selections will be announced by the NCAA today and Monday.