Meet #7
NIU Tri-Meet
Meet Information:
Date: Friday, February 20
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: DeKalb, Ill.
Venue: NIU Convocation Center
Teams: Southeast Missouri, Northern Illinois, Wilberforce
Head Coaches:
SEMO: Ashley Lawson (Eighth Season)
NIU: Dawnita Teague (First Season)
Wilberforce: Dr. Morgan Byrd (First Season)
Follow the Gymhawks:
X: @SEMOGymnastics
Live Stats: Virtius
Watch: NIU Huskies Network
Media Guide (PDF)
Gymhawks Hit Road to Northern Illinois for Friday Tri-Meet
Southeast Missouri Gymnastics will be on the road for the second-straight week as they head to DeKalb, Illinois for the 'Beauty and the Beast' Meet at Northern Illinois. Competition is slated to begin at 7 p.m., CT. from the NIU Convocation Center.
Who's There?
Friday night's competition will feature three teams in DeKalb, Illinois as the Redhawks will take on Northern Illinois and Wilberforce in a tri-meet format. SEMO has met Wilberforce just one time previous this season, resulting in a 193.350-176.875 victory for the Gymhawks at the 'Windy City Invite'. Friday's meet marks the first meeting this season between NIU and SEMO.
Last Saturday Night
The Gymhawks continued their strong performances of 2026 last weekend at Illinois State, picking up their third victory of the season over the Midwest Independent Conference-foe with a 194.150-192.475 performance in Normal, Illinois. It marked the second time this season that the Gymhawks scored north of 194.000 against Illinois State. Senior
Taylor Ingle paced the way as she competed in her 21
st-straight competition in the all-around, scoring a 38.925 with a 9.850 on the vault to capture her first vault title of the season. Juniors
Leah Parton and
Jaidan Kossuth continued their exceptional performances on the beam with a 9.875 and 9.850, respectively, as Parton captured her second beam title of the season.
Gymhawks of the Week
Senior
Taylor Ingle and sophomore
Reagan Sams picked up MIC weekly honors for the second time this season. Ingle was named the 'Gymanst of the Week' for the fourth time this season, while Sams picked up her second 'Newcomer of the Week' honor.
Ingle's Week
Ingle captured another all-around title with a 38.925 in her 21st-straight all-around competition. The Coppell, Texas-native captured the vault title with a 9.850 edging out ISU's Sammie Wolff with a 9.750 for her first vault title of the season. Ingle scored a 9.575 on bars (7th), 9.775 on beam (4th), and a 9.725 on the floor (9.725) to round out her evening. She has now won 'Gymnast of the Week' honors four times this season and has secured back-to-back honors for the second time in 2026.
Sams' Club
Sams scored a 9.825 on the floor at Illinois State to capture her first-floor title of the season. Sams edged out ISU's Jaly Jones (9.800) with her highest score of the season thus far, and her second-straight week with a 9.800 or higher on the floor. She has four floor scores this season of 9.725 or higher and has scored a 9.800 or higher in two-straight weeks.
Top 50
Southeast Missouri Gymnastics enters the seventh week of the season inside the Top 50 in the country. According to
Road To Nationals, the Gymhawks rank 49
th in Division I Gymnastics and are currently second in the Midwest Independent Conference behind Texas Woman's (45
th). The Gymhawks have not finished a season ranked inside the Top 50 since the 2021 season when they finished 47
th.
Standout Beam
The Gymhawks have executed strong on the beam this season and have found themselves ranked 36
th in the country on the apparatus, according to
roadtonationals.com. SEMO is coming off its second-best beam performance of 2026 after hitting 48.975 as a team. Their best score came at the 'Windy City Invite' when they turned in a 49.000. The Gymhawks rank the highest in the MIC on beam followed by Texas Woman's (47
th), Illinois State (63
rd), and Centenary (80
th).
Parton Me
Junior
Leah Parton has been exceptional over the last five weeks on the beam for the Gymhawks. The West Des Moines, Iowa-native turned in her third-straight beam score of 9.775 or higher with a season-high 9.875 at Illinois State. Parton captured her second beam title of the season which marks back-to-back weeks with a beam title.
Oh, Napolitano!
Junior
Jordan Napolitano has now competed on the beam for the Gymhawks in back-to-back weeks and is coming off her best performance of the season. Napolitano secured a 9.825 last Saturday night at Illinois State and placed third overall at the meet. For Napolitano, the performance earned her first podium on an event this season.
Steady Improvement
Senior
Ailey Kuehn has competed in five meets this season in five-straight weeks on the vault, after missing the opening meet of the year. Kuehn has improved her vault score in three-straight weeks including a season-high 9.725 last Saturday at Illinois State. Kuehn finished tied for sixth place in the meet.
Welcome Back, Syd
Senior
Sydney Crouch returned to the bars lineup for the first time this season. The Cape Coral, Florida-native spent most of 2025 in the bars lineup and competed at Illinois State in the two spot. Crouch secured a 9.400 for her highest recorded score this season.
The Entertainer
Graduate student
Nyah Reader put in an incredible performance on the floor last Saturday night. Reader soared to a 9.800 on the floor which marked her second-highest score of the season and finished tied for second on the floor with ISU's Leah Davis and Jaly Jones. Reader has two scores of 9.800 or higher this season on the floor.
Match & Elevate
Junior
Jaidan Kossuth has been in the vault and beam lineup all season long in 2026. Kossuth is coming off a week where she matched her highest vault score of the season and soared to a new season-high on the beam. Kossuth turned in her second 9.750 in three weeks after recording the first one on February 1 in Cape Girardeau. She finished tied for second on the vault before turning to the beam. Kossuth then turned in a 9.850 on the beam and secured another second-place finish for the Gymhawks. Kossuth has matched or improved her beam score in four-straight weeks.
