SHREVEPORT, La. – It was a big night for the Illinois State gymnastics team on Thursday, as the Redbirds took home four awards for their stellar performances during the 2025 gymnastics season at the annual Midwest Independent Conference Awards Banquet prior to the MIC Championship meet.

Senior Jaye Mack was named the MIC Co-Athlete of the Year and was also honored with the MIC Woman of the Year Award, while classmate Alana Laster was voted the MIC Senior of the Year by the league's head coaches. In addition, ISU head coach Bob Conkling was named the MIC Coach of the Year.

For the fifth year in a row, a Redbird has been named Athlete of the Year as Mack follows a string of four-straight wins by former teammate Angelica Labat from 2021-24. The Lee's Summit, Missouri, native has competed in every meet on vault, beam and floor this season and heads into the conference championship ranked second in the MIC in NQS on vault (9.860) and third on floor (9.860), where she has won three-straight individual MIC titles. 

In addition to her co-athlete of the year honor, Mack was also selected as the MIC Woman of the Year becoming the first Redbird to earn that honor. The MIC Woman of the Year honor is awarded to an athlete based on academics, service and leadership. It is an award that showcases how community has influenced an athlete's life and empowered her to have a positive impact on the world.

Laster is the first ISU gymnast since 2020 (Gabrielle Cooke) to be honored as the MIC Senior of the Year. The Cape Coral, Florida, native is a two-time NCAA Regional qualifier and looks to have a spot all but locked up to qualify again on vault in 2025 as she currently ranks No. 36 in the country individually. Laster heads into the conference championship meet with the highest individual NQS on both the vault (9.870) and floor (9.875) and looks to be a favorite to win both events.

Conkling earned MIC Coach of the Year honors for the second time in his career, after previously earning the award in 2022. In his 20th season at the helm of the program, Conkling is looking to lead the Redbirds to their second conference title in three seasons and the third in his tenure as the Redbirds head coach. ISU heads into the MIC Championship with the highest team NQS in the conference at 195.545 and posted the highest average meet score in the MIC this season at 195.169.

Illinois State will look to bring home the conference championship for the second time in three years at the 2025 MIC Championship hosted by Centenary on Friday afternoon. The Redbirds will compete against Centenary, Southeast Missouri State and Texas Woman's for the conference title, with the meet set to begin at 4 p.m. CT at the Gold Dome.

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