Hilton Coliseum was a house-divided Friday night holding, but it wasn’t divided in the thrill, intensity and emotion throughout the stands.

Between the stunning performances, passionate crowd and gratitude for Iowa State’s seniors, the Cyclone gymnastics team had one of its best showcases of the season.

The Cyclones topped No. 17 Iowa, 196.025 to 196.000. Iowa State had four career-highs, which was the key factor in getting the win in the annual Cy-Hawk series.

Like in previous years, the rivalry was expected to be tight. But this was even tighter than usual. The Cyclones and Hawkeyes were neck and neck through the entirety of the night. It came down to the very last performance in the last event to determine the final tally.

“If you look on paper, they are far better than us. So going into this meet we were the underdog and we had nothing to lose,” said coach Jay Ronayne. “We were chasing season-highs and trying to match or do better than what we have scored individually.”

Iowa State perfectly executed their game plan in getting season highs all across the line-up. The team shined and seniors Sara Townsend and Alex Marasco shined even brighter by contributing to the personal and season-high scores for the vault and the beam, respectively.

“I was really proud of myself, it was a dream come true ending to my career in Hilton Coliseum,” Marasco said. “Just really proud of myself and the team and really came together tonight for an awesome ending.”

Aside from the meet itself, all attention was on honoring Iowa State’s seniors, Kristen DeCosta, Alex Marasco, Sammie Pearsall and Sara Townsend. In the award ceremony, the entire gymnastics program and fans were reminded of the great achievements all four seniors had in their collegiate career.

Alex Marasco, an Omaha, Neb., native, earned the Mari-Rae Sopper Outstanding Performer in 2015. She also has a couple of academic awards. 

“It’s a lot to take in, definitely really sad but really proud of the team tonight,” Marasco said. “They made it a lot easier, it was a perfect ending to my career.”

All-arounder Sammie Pearsall was awarded the Team Freshman of the Year Award and the Mari-Rae Sopper Outstanding Gymnast winner twice.

“She is the glue for our team, she isn’t the superstar but she is the glue that keeps us together,” Ronayne said. “She really cares, she cares deeply about the Cyclones and is great at leading. We are really lucky to have her.”

Illinois native Sara Townsend grabbed a few academic awards as well. 

“It’s been a journey and a lot of ups and downs,” Townsend said. “But it has taught me perseverance and hard work and so many life lessons. I’m going to miss it.”

Although Kristen DeCosta couldn’t perform all four years, the Texas native excelled just the same as her teammates in academics. 

“It was cut short, way too short because of injuries,” Ronayne said. “She had the potential to be one of the greats, but there were just so many setbacks through the years. But, she is still a contributor and a huge part of the team.”

An immense amount of love and appreciation was given to the seniors from their teammates. Freshman Meaghan Sievers was specifically impacted by their careers through the examples they set for herself as a younger gymnast.

“Every senior had their own role to play and they were all necessary for this team,“ Sievers said. “Alex has always been my rock on bars… Sara has always been my bar buddy too, we always finish assignments together… and Sammie has always been the glue for us on every event.”

The careers of Marasco, Pearsall, Townsend,and DeCosta will be remembered, but their career isn’t over just yet. The four seniors and team are set to face Kentucky next Friday. It will be the Cyclones’ last meet until the Big 12 Championships in Frisco, Texas.

“Seems like [the Big 12 Championships] are a lifetime away from right now,” said coach. “Ultimately, it is our same goal to chase season highs. If they do that, they’ve done their job and it is the same thing for Kentucky.”