Iowa State gymnastics was back for another day of competition Thursday night in the second round of the NCAA Auburn regional after defeating Western Michigan in the opening round.

However, the Cyclones ended up in fourth place and will not move on to the next round. No. 2 Florida came out on top, and No. 15 Denver took the second-place spot. Those teams will compete in the regional final Saturday.

Iowa State finished with a final score of 196.725. Ohio State came in third with a 196.925. Denver finished with 197.075 and Florida with 198.125. 

The Cyclones won the first-round competition against Western Michigan on Tuesday and had to physically and mentally prepare to compete two days in a row. 

Before NCAA regionals began, the gymnasts knew that competing two days in a row would be possible. Junior Maddie Diab said that she felt that she and her team were well prepared for that possibility.

Iowa State had some tough competition going into Wednesday’s meet. They competed against No. 2 Florida, No. 15 Denver and Ohio State. 

Sticks to start 

As always, stuck landings are one of the most important aspects in gymnastics and can be a very strong deciding factor in the outcome of a competition. 

Sticks are something that Iowa State has continued to work on and continued to improve on all season. 

During Tuesday and Wednesday’s competitions, sticks were much more visible, and the Cyclones were awarded for them. 

Iowa State started its competition on the balance beam. All six gymnasts stayed on the beam for their routines, and four of the six scores were a score of 9.800 or above.

Josie Bergstrom scored a 9.800. Loganne Basuel and Kelsey Boychuk stuck their routines, and both earned a 9.850. Basuel’s score matched her career-high. 

Meixi Semple also finished out the beam team with a stuck landing and a score of 9.875. 

After the first rotation, the Cyclones trailed by .550 but would be moving onto the floor exercise, where they have continued to see high scores all season. 

Picking up the pace

Career highs and high scores occurred for the Cyclones on floor. Ariana Orrego earned herself a career-high with a 9.900. 

Maddie Diab continued to lead the team on floor with a 9.925, which she also scored during Wednesday’s competition. 

After scoring low Wednesday with a 9.600, Kaia Parker was back and better as she also earned herself a career-high with a 9.850. 

Laura Cooke and Kelsey Boychuk also put up decently high scores for the team. Cooke scored a 9.750, while Boychuk scored a 9.775.

After the second rotation, the Cyclones still trailed but by less than they had previously. They trailed the leading team by .450. 

Sticks and career highs traveled with Iowa State as they moved onto their strongest event: the vault. 

Ariana Orrego started off the vault team by tying her career-high of 9.800. Josie Bergstrom matched her career-high with a 9.900; her second 9.900 in a row as it was the same score from Tuesday’s meet.

Kelsey Boychuk stuck her vault and scored a 9.850. Makayla Maxwell matched Boychuk’s score by also putting up a 9.850. 

Big Bars

The last event for the Cyclones was the uneven bars, one of their weaker events. However, it was not a weak event Wednesday night. 

All of the scores for the bars lineup were scores of 9.800 or higher, an improvement from Tuesday’s competition. 

Makayla Maxwell started the lineup strong with a career-high of 9.875. Loganne Basuel tied her season-high with the same score as Maxwell.

Ana Palacios and Laura Cooke both put up scores of 9.850. Palacios’ score tied her career-high. 

Hannah Loyim scored a 9.825, and Ariana Orrego finished off for the Cyclones with a 9.800. 

Although the season has come to an end for the Cyclones, they earned themselves not only their highest bars score of the season but also their best regional score in program history. 

Saturday’s Auburn regional final will feature No. 2 Florida, No. 7 Auburn, No. 10 Kentucky and No. 15 Denver.