The stereo was blaring a little more intensely as the eighth-ranked ISU women’s gymnastics team prepared for the regional championships next week after coming off a second place finish at the Big 12 Championships.

Iowa State scored a 197.050, falling just short of Nebraska’s 197.650. This score was the third highest in Cyclone history and another in a string of recent successes by the gymnastics team.

Shelly Kringen, Iowa State’s multiple all-around winner during the regular season, captured the Big 12 all-around championship outright, finishing just ahead of junior Sissy Huey with a score of 39.550 out of 40.

Kringen, who scored a perfect 10 at the last meet against Iowa, has won the all-around in three of the Cyclones’ last four meets.

However, she was quite humble about her achievements, saying little more than she is happy with her performance.

Kringen said little was different about this meet compared to the regular season performances.

“We looked at it like it was a normal competition,” she said. “We were a little nervous, but if you’re not nervous, there is something wrong,”

Huey, the regular season Big 12 uneven bars champion, won the floor exercise outright with a score of 9.95. However, she came in second on the uneven bars behind the University of Nebraska’s Bree Dority, who scored a 10 on the event.

“The atmosphere was relaxing,” Huey said. “We had a lot of confidence.”

Junior Stephanie Sweitzer completed the Cyclone run at the championships, tying with Nebraska’s A.J. Lamb with a score of 9.95 on the balance beam and tying her career high score.

Senior co-captain Jessy Smith, who placed fifth in the all-around competition, also noted the confidence of the Cyclone squad, but said they had worked extremely hard last weekend to prepare themselves for the meet.

The Cyclones led the meet through three events, but finished on vault, their lowest scoring event.

Although they won the vault as a team with a score of 48.900, Nebraska was able to pull ahead at that point.

Coach K.J. Kindler was not disappointed in the slightest about the Cyclones’ performance in Norman, Okla.

“They did awesome, they were very focused,” she said. “We did exactly what we set out to do.”

The Cyclones’ unwritten goal for every meet is to receive a 197 for their score and go “24 for 24,” meaning that all gymnasts successfully complete their routines.

These goals were reached at the event, something Kindler attributed to her team’s unity.

“We had great chemistry during the event. We were leading the meet until the vault, but we did the best we could,” she said.

The Cyclones are now concentrating on regional championships next week in Salt Lake City, Utah.

They received a No. 2 seed going into the championships.

Although the team is excited about its position, Kringen said they have begun rigorous psychological preparation for the event.

“We are working on our nerves, turning the stereo up,” Kringen shouted.

They expect a crowd of about 13,000 fans in Utah, but they will not let that affect their performance.

Huey pointed out not only the psychological preparation, but the concentration perfecting all routines, eliminating small hops on the landings and other form deductions.

“We need to block out all distractions and concentrate on what we are doing,” she said.

The Cyclones will be leaving next Thursday for Salt Lake City in preparation for the meet March 31.