The ISU gymnastics team made the most of its second trip to the NCAA national championships.

All-arounders Janet Anson, Erin Dethloff and Laura-Kay Powell teamed with National Coach of the Year K.J. Kindler and found themselves on the medal podium when the championship meet drew to a close Saturday in Auburn, Ala.

Anson advanced to the individual vault finals Saturday, finishing second with a 9.90 to capture NCAA runner-up honors after garnering first-team All-American honors on the vault in the team preliminaries on Thursday.

“I’m speechless — it’s amazing,” Anson said. “I would have never even thought I would be second in the nation.”

Anson became Iowa State’s first-ever NCAA silver medalist, improving upon her sixth-place finish last year as a freshman. She nailed two vaults, a full twisting Yurchenko and a one-and-a-half twisting Yurchenko — one of the most difficult vaults in the competition — to finish second behind 2000 Olympian Kristen Maloney of UCLA (9.9375).

“I knew right when I hit the board that it was going to be a good one,” Anson said. “I was a little nervous because I didn’t hit [a one-and-a-half] in warm-ups, but I just remembered what Lou [Ball] and K.J. told me, and it took me through the vault.”

Iowa State’s other individual who advanced, Powell, earned two All-American honors, a first-team selection on floor and a second-team selection on vault, in her second appearance at the national championships.

She advanced to the individual floor finals, where she tied for eighth place (9.8375).

Powell finished five one-hundredths of a point behind Olympic silver medallist Terin Humphry, while 2004 NCAA floor co-champions Courtney Bumpers from North Carolina and Ashley Miles from Alabama finished first (10.0) and second (9.975), respectively.

“It was some stiff competition, but I feel like my performance was good,” Powell said, noting she was honored to be included in the elite field.

Although Dethloff did not advance to the individual finals, she led the Cyclones to an eighth-place finish in the team competition Thursday, placing eighth individually in the all-around to capture All-American honors for the third consecutive year.

The three All-Americans are the most ever for the Cyclones in a single season.

“It is a tribute to their leadership on the floor,” Kindler said. “It says a lot about where we’re going and about the team as a whole.”

While the gymnasts were gaining honors during competition, the Cyclone coaching staff was given a tribute of its own.

Kindler was named national coach of the year, and assistant coach Lou Ball was named co-national assistant coach of the year with Utah’s Megan Marsden.

“It’s pretty much a shock and rather unexpected,” Ball said. “It’s very gratifying, as it is voted on by our peers — all of the coaches across the country.”

Powell said she felt the duo had done an amazing job keeping the team on track all year, pushing the team to nationals for the second time in school history despite over a dozen lineup-shifting injuries.

Kindler said the honors were a testament to the Cyclones’ team performance at the championship, and the dedication of the entire coaching staff, including Ball and assistant coach Kristen Hoeferlin.

“It was just obviously the icing on the cake,” Kindler said. “The team was so awesome on Thursday that they certainly gained so much respect that it had effect on the voting.

“It’s probably the best weekend of my career ever,” she said. “It’s hard to put into words how proud I am of the team their accomplishments.”