The BGSU gymnastics team hosted the MAC Championships at the Stroh Center on Saturday. Six other Mid-American Conference schools—Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Northern Illinois, and Kent State—participated as well.
The meet was decided by 17 judges hailing from nine states.
First Rotation
The Falcons started on the vault, racking up 48.425 total points. Junior and Connecticut native Megan Dzialo paced all Falcon vaulters with a 9.750 mark.
A standout team in the first rotation was Central Michigan, with the floor routine. The five Chippewa scores that counted were 9.800 and above, while senior Luciana Alvarado-Reid, of Costa Rica, led all competitors in the first rotation with a 9.900 mark. Alvaredo-Reid was the first Costa Rican individual gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, competing in Tokyo in 2021.
Second Rotation
BG went on Bye in the second rotation. Western Michigan put together a clean performance on the vault, with all six competitors scoring a 9.700 or above. Junior Brooke Gelesko led her team with a 9.800 score. Kent State was solid on the beam, with three gymnasts scoring a 9.750 and above.
Third Rotation
On the uneven bars, Dzialo took a 9.750, getting cheers from the BG fans seated just above the bars. Sophomore Kayla Shaw notched a 9.725.
The Chippewas had a standout round on the vault, with four athletes scoring 9.800 or above. Alvaredo-Reid scored a 9.850, as did graduate student Lia Kmieciak. CMU’s lowest vault scorer took a 9.650.
Ball State delivered a well-rounded floor routine; while Ava Molina had a fall that dropped her score to a 9.075, the rest of Ball State’s floor competitors scored a 9.700 or better.
BG was in fifth place, and 1.625 points out of first place, after three rotations.
Fourth Rotation
BG took on the balance beam in the fourth rotation. Senior Madison Coburn nearly fell from the beam but managed to regain her balance and finish the routine. Sophomore Emily Gianfrancesco followed up Coburn with a sharp routine worth 9.800, which was the highest Falcon score in the balance beam event.
Kent State was dominant on the floor. Emma Masse scored a 9.850; Virginia native Jersey Bingman then scored a 9.775, while Heidi Schultz got a 9.875. To finish the round, Charlie Behner, a Temple transfer and Georgia native, logged a 9.900. No Golden Flash scored lower than a 9.700 in the event.
Northern Illinois was solid in the vault, with five competitors scoring north of 9.700. Junior Dawsyn Sallee, of Versailles, Kentucky, took home a 9.850.
Fifth Rotation
The Orange and Brown started their second bye in the fifth rotation.
Ball State started with back-to-back scores of 9.850 in the vault from Jordanna Phillis and Karli Mercer. They continued this high-level production to make the Vault their best event of the day, with no Cardinal scoring less than 9.800.
Eastern Michigan had a rocky start in the floor routine but finished with a strong 9.875 mark by Abby Brushwood.
Sixth Rotation
With the floor routine as their last event, the Falcons had everything to play for going into the sixth rotation. In that high-pressure spot, the BG team excelled. Five competitors scored above 9.800, and junior Keira Thornton earned a score of 9.925—the highest individual score for any competitor in any event. The results put BG in third place entering the seventh rotation. With the seventh rotation as their final bye, the third was the highest the Falcons could finish.
Seventh Rotation
Western Michigan, NIU, Eastern Michigan, and Ball State participated in the final rotation.
Mary Rose Bellan, of Ball State, got a 9.900 on the uneven bars, becoming the fourth gymnast of the day to get any score of 9.900 or above.
Final Results
Strong performances from Eastern and Western Michigan bumped the Falcons down to sixth place. The Central Michigan Chippewas won the meet, beating Ball State by 0.225 points.
Thornton won first place in the floor routine.
“Floor is my best event,” Thornton said. “We set a goal before the floor routine, which was our season high, and we hit that, but I don’t think that is our ceiling.”
Head coach Brittney Emmons saw a tight, competitive meet.
“The MAC is so competitive,” Emmons said. “Everybody had to fight…when you come in here, and we rise to the occasion, that’s exciting.”
The Falcons finish their season as the sixth-best team in the MAC. Photos and videos from the meet can be found at bgfalconmedia.com.
