No. 17 Iowa State proved that it is a force to be reckoned with this season after defeating No. 20 Southern Utah, Utah State and tying with BYU for first place in the Cyclones’ first road meet this season.

The Cyclones (4-1-1, 1-1 Big 12) continue to be led by junior all-around competitor Michelle Browning, who tied for first place in the all-around with a 39.100, along with freshman standout Michelle Shealy.

Browning also tied for first in the bars event along with seniors Alex Grant and Jody McKellar, respectively. Going into the bars, the Cyclones were in third place before posting one of the top five bars scores in ISU history to tie for first place in the meet.

“We really didn’t worry about where we were standing,” Browning said. “We just looked forward to the job we had to do in that last event and did what we needed to do.”

The energy and excitement Iowa State carried into the final event played a major factor in the outcome.

“I remember my coach came up to me and said for these last routines, just scream,” Grant said. “We had so much energy on our team, and it was very exciting.”

ISU coach Jay Ronayne has been pleased with the team spirit and individual accountability of each student-athlete and believes that this kind of attitude will lead to more success as the season progresses.

“Each one was saying, personally, they could have done something better for their team,” Ronayne said. “That’s what it is all about for them. They are not in it for any individual glory. They’re all about the Cyclones.”

Iowa State will face another tough road test this weekend as it will face No. 18 North Carolina State and George Washington in Raleigh, N.C.

The Cyclones will definitely have their hands full with North Carolina State, as the Wolfpack dropped close meets to ranked opponents Florida and Penn State. Luckily for Iowa State, it will have support from its families and of course, each other.

The event order for the Cyclones will be bars, vault, floor and lastly balance beam. The team hopes to continue the momentum of a great bars performance last weekend right into the beginning of this meet.

“Ending on bars we have a lot of confidence going into this meet,” Grant said. “Over these past couple of weeks, we have been trying to make our practices like our meets, and I really think it’s going to give us an advantage and help us continue to do better.”

The competition is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Friday.