Meet #8
Long Island vs. Southeast Missouri
 
Meet Information: 
Date: Friday, February 27 
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo. 
Venue: Houck Field House
Participants: Long Island and SEMO
 
Head Coaches: 
SEMO: Ashley Lawson (Eighth Season)
LIU: Taylor Cowell (First Season)
 
Follow the Gymhawks: 
X: @SEMOGymnastics
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets
 
Media Guide (PDF)
 
Gymhawks Host Final Meet of 2026 on Friday Versus Long Island
Southeast Missouri Gymnastics is set to host its final home meet of the 2026 campaign on Friday, February 27, as Long Island University comes to Cape Girardeau. The competition is slated for 6:30 p.m., CT. from Houck Field House.
 
First Meeting
Friday night's meet marks the first time that Long Island and Southeast Missouri have faced one another in gymnastics. The Sharks make the 1,032-mile trek across the country to take on the Gymhawks. LIU is led by former Gymhawk assistant coach, Taylor Cowell. Cowell coached for SEMO during the 2023 campaign. 
 
Senior Night
The Gymhawks' final home meet of the season marks 'Senior Night' for five Gymhawks this season. Seniors Sydney Crouch, Kailyn Hamilton, Taylor Ingle, Ailey Kuehn, and Nyah Reader will all be recognized at the competition as they compete in their final night at Houck Field House. 
 
Red Out and Cookies
Friday's meet will feature a few giveaways and promotional fun for fans who attend. The first is the meet is marked as a 'red out', fans are encouraged to wear as much red as possible to red out Houck. To go along with your red, fans will receive a FREE cookie courtesy of Crumbl - Cape Girardeau while supplies last. 
 
Three-Straight
Southeast Missouri Gymnastics won its third-straight meet last Friday night at the Northern Illinois Tri-Meet turning in a 193.900 to capture first place at the NIU Convocation Center. 
 
The Gymhawks edged out the host Northern Illinois and Wilberforce who scored a 191.700 and 180.775, respectively, on Friday evening. 
 
Senior Taylor Ingle led the flock with a 39.100 all-around score in her 22nd-striaght all-around competition as she scored a 9.700 on bars (T-3), 9.775 on beam (4th), 9.800 on floor (T-1), and 9.825 on vault (T-1) to round out her night.
 
MIC Weekly Awards
The Gymhawks secured weekly awards for the third-straight week as senior Taylor Ingle and junior Jaidan Kossuth were recognized for their efforts at Northern Illinois. 
 
Ingle
Taylor captured another all-around title this season with a 39.100 in what marked her 22nd-straigth all-around competition. She captured her second-straight vault title with a 9.825, tying with Dawsyn Sallee of Northern Illinois. She finished tied for third on bars (9.700), took fourth on beam (9.775), and captured another event title on floor (9.800) to round out her night. 
 
Taylor has now won 'Gymnast of the Week' honors five different times this season and is now a back-to-back-to-back winner in 2026.
 
Kossuth
Junior Jaidan Kossuth had an incredible performance on Friday night on the beam. The Queen Creek, Arizona-native turned in her season-high 9.875 on the beam to capture the beam title at Northern Illinois. 
 
Over the last four weeks, starting with a 9.775, Kossuth has improved her beam score each week. She has three-straight weeks of a 9.800 or higher as the Gymhawks beam squad has cracked the top 35 in the country (35). 
 
For Kossuth, the award marks the first of her SEMO career and it's the third-straight week the Gymhawks have multiple weekly winners.
 
Top 50
The Gymhawks enter the final home meet ranked 50^th in the country, according to Road To Nationals. SEMO Gymnastics ranks 58^th on floor, 56^th on vault, 50^th on bars, and 35^th on beam as the beam has continued to be the strongest apparatus this season for the Gymhawks. 
 
MIC Standings
Southeast Missouri enters the weekend ranked second in the Midwest Independent Conference (MIC) with an average of 193.746 through seven completed meets. SEMO has a Team NQS score of 193.740 and trails Texas Woman's who has a 195.029 NQS. The Gymhawks highest score this season is a 194.850 set back at the SEMO Quad-Meet (2/6). 
 
Beam
SEMO has the second highest ranked apparatus in the entire MIC as they enter Friday night ranked 35^th in the country on beam. The Gymhawks are coming off their third-highest beam score of the season at NIU (2/20) with a 48.900. They have just one score-out-of-seven that is below a 48.000 this season, with their highest being a 49.000 back on January 16. 
 
The Long Islander
Junior Jordan Napolitano hails from Miller Place, New York which is roughly two hours east of Long Island University. Napolitano has competed in three meets this season, specifically the last three weeks, on the beam as the Gymhawks continue to shine on the apparatus. Jordan recorded her second-highest score of the season last week with a 9.750 at NIU. She placed fifth on the beam.
 
Bounced Back
Junior Ava Johnston anchored the bars lineup on Friday night, turning in a 9.675 from the sixth spot in the lineup. She placed fifth overall, tied with her teammate Gracie Jones with the same score. Johnston has been a staple on the bars this season but had a bad fall at Illinois State (2/14) before bouncing back in strong fashion last Friday night. 
 
Steady
Sophomore Joselene Hernandez has been one of the most consistent Gymhawks on the vault this season. Hernandez has a season-high of 9.750 two different times and has scored below a 9.650 just one time this season. Hernandez is coming off four-straight 9.700 or higher performances, including a 9.700 at Northern Illinois which tied her for sixth overall.