One of the best senior classes in ISU gymnastics history has finished up its career, but it won’t be forgotten soon.

K.J. Kindler, ISU gymnastics head coach, said this year’s seniors have helped build a very strong program and they will be hard to replace.

Two of the seniors, Sissy Huey and Shelly Kringen, recently competed at the 2002 NCAA Championships in Alabama. Huey performed in the all-around competition while Kringen competed on the balance beam. Although neither gymnast qualified for the finals, Kindler was very proud of them and the senior class as a whole.

“Sissy and Shelly, along with the rest of the seniors, Kendra Ciancio, Dena Albacker and Stephanie Sweitzer. … That’s an incredible class to lose,” Kindler said. “That senior class has brought us a long ways. It’s definitely going to be an interesting year next year to see the freshmen that come and try to fill in the gaps.”

The Cyclones were ranked in the top 10 nationally in all but one of the weekly polls during the regular season. After a victory in the season-opening meet, Iowa State was ranked No. 8 in the country.

When they defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes for the 17th consecutive time two weeks later, the team was ranked sixth in the nation – the highest ranking ever achieved by the gymnastics program at Iowa State.

The team also placed second at the Big 12 Conference Championship, narrowly missing the league crown by less than eight one-hundredths of a point.

At the NCAA regional in early April, the season came to a close for the team as they finished in third place. Kringen placed first in the balance beam competition and Huey notched a third place score in the all-around, allowing both gymnasts to advance to the national meet. It was the second time Kringen had qualified in her career as a Cyclone and Huey’s fourth.

Kindler said the national meet was a very tight contest and Huey performed one of her best performances of the year on floor exercise. The Florida native tallied a 9.85 on the event.

“I was real happy with that,” she said. “The scores were very tight. The judges had to be very particular.”

Huey said she performed well at nationals, perhaps the best she has ever done at that level, but didn’t accomplish her goal of becoming an All-American.

Despite falling short, she was proud of her career at Iowa State.

“I think it was very good for me, and it was exciting that I was able to accomplish so many things and fulfill a lot my dreams,” she said. “At the same time, it’s kind of sad that I’m done. It really hasn’t sunk in yet.”

Kringen, who posted a respectable 9.20 on the balance beam at nationals, agreed.

“It’s been a fast ride,” she said. “It seems like we just got here. In my four years here, I haven’t regretted one thing in my gymnastics career. Everything I’ve done, I’m very proud of.”

Huey said she is considering trying to qualify for the World University Games. She added that the way her body feels has a lot to do with the decision.

Although she’s unsure about the games, she does have one more thing in mind for the future – “definitely coaching.”

Kringen also hopes to coach down the road.

As for the future of the ISU gymnastics team, Kindler said the upperclassmen have really helped bring higher-quality talent to Ames.

“They’ve . brought the program to a level that we were able to recruit higher level gymnasts,” Kindler said. “And due to that, they just might be able to fill in some shoes here and there. We’re going to be a better team next year because of it.”