ISU gymnast Caitlin Brown got a taste of the NCAA’s biggest stage April 18.

The junior took her talents south to Birmingham, Ala., for a showdown with the nation’s elite at the NCAA Championships. Brown, who qualified as an individual in the all-around category, was the only ISU gymnast competing at the event. She finished 24th overall in the event.

With her teammates back in Ames cheering on from more than 800 miles away, Brown rotated through the events with host school Alabama. Competing alongside the Crimson Tide helped make up for the lack of vocal support Brown had with her team’s absence.

“It’s always hard to feel normal without the whole team there,” said ISU assistant coach Katie Teft-Minasola. “It was great for her to have those Alabama fans cheering for her with their team. Having all those people support you and cheer for you really makes a difference.”

After waiting until 7:00 p.m. for the meet to get underway, Brown had a bye rotation and found herself waiting even longer to get things going. A hair after the bottom of the hour, Brown’s turn had come.

Up first was the uneven bars, an event that the Cyclones as a whole dominated late in the season. Brown scored a 9.750, typically a sufficient score for getting the ball rolling.

The level of competition at the NCAA Championships, however, was unlike anything Brown had seen all season. The Apple Valley, Minn., native really had her work cut out for her.

“Personally, I thought the bars routine was pretty good. I was happy with how I did,” Brown said. “At nationals, though, the scoring is tighter than it usually is. You have less room for error there. Going forward, I just tried to loosen up and let myself do my thing.”

Up next was the beam, an apparatus Brown excelled on throughout the season. A bit of a wobble cost her, but Brown earned a 9.800 heading into the mid-way point of the meet.

After another bye rotation, Brown scored a 9.850 on the floor exercise. Her steady climb back into contention for a spot in Sunday’s individual event finals felt eerily familiar.

A little over a month before, with two meets left in the regular season, the ISU gymnastics team was more than five spots outside of qualifying for the postseason. The Cyclones came up big in back-to-back meets and kept the dream alive only to fall short at regionals, bringing an end to their season.

Just as the team had gotten hot late in the year, Brown was finding her groove with just one vault routine left in her season. But just as the team had missed out on advancing one round further, so, too, would Brown.

She scored a 9.675 and took 24th in the all-around competition, bringing her breakout junior campaign to an end.

“I was disappointed. I had some high expectations for myself,” Brown said. “I can’t focus on that, though. I learned so much this weekend, so many things I can share with the team and teach them. It was a great experience.”

Though Brown’s season lacked the storybook ending she and her coaches expected, Teft-Minasola doesn’t expect Brown to dwell on what could have been.

“It’s huge for her future just having been here,” Teft-Minasola said. “She’s going to be a vital component on next year’s team and we’re going into the summer with the expectation of coming back … A year from now, I see Caitlin leading the team to nationals. She’s that determined.”

And so as Brown and the ISU gymnastics team enter the off-season with lofty goals for next year, she can’t help but think maybe this year wasn’t just a taste. Perhaps the 2014 NCAA Championships were just an appetizer for Brown, and 2015 will be the main course.

“I’m going to start next season where I left off at regionals with that 39.4,” Brown said. “I’m just going to keep working and keep moving up. I can’t wait to get back next year.”