Southeast gymnastics team finishes fourth at conference championship

The Southeast Missouri State gymnastics team was unable to defend its Midwest Independent Conference championship Saturday night, finishing fourth in the six-team competition held in Denton, Texas.

The Redhawks posted their second-highest score of the season with a 194.450.

Lindenwood claimed its first MIC title with a score of 195.800, and Texas Woman's came in second with a 195.750.

Illinois State was third with a 194.550, while Illinois-Chicago was fifth and Centenary sixth.

Southeast set season-highs on the floor competition with 48.725 and vault with 48.950 to take a lead into the final two rotations.

Ashley Thomas, who earned first-team all-conference honors, tied for fourth in the all-around with a career-high 39.225. She had a career-high 9.875 on floor and a career-high 9.900 on vault to tie for second.

Senior Erin Brady posted a career-high 9.825 in floor and sophomore Bailey Walker scored a season-high and tied her career-best on vault with a 9.850.

Taylor Penzien posted Southeast's highest score on the uneven bars with a 9.800, while Lauren Israel and McKenna Stanley each scored 9.775. The Redhawks finished with a 48.775 on the event.

Penzien and Thomas both scored 9.725 on the balance beam where Southeast scored 48.000.