Gymnastics medals four times, finishes fourth at MAC Championships

MUNCIE, Ind. – Central Michigan Gymnastics' 2024 schedule reached its end on Saturday, when CMU placed fourth in the MAC Championships with a score of 195.925. Four Chippewas earned medals, with two earning a MAC title in their respective events.

Head coach Christine MacDonald has stressed the intangible qualities her team has displayed all year, and CMU's performance at the big event on Saturday was no different.

"Really great resilience from our team today," she said. "We started off on beam, which I thought they did a great job of really fighting for every tenth. There were moments where individuals had to fight but they never stopped and they really fought for those tenths today. So I think they started the day off fighting for every moment and then we continued that all day."

The highlight of the day came from a pair of Chippewas who finished first in their respective events. Luciana Alvarado-Reid secured a MAC title on the uneven parallel bars - CMU's final rotation - with a score of 9.925. She shared the title with Ball State's Ashley Szymanski.

The other Chippewa to earn a MAC title was senior Hallie Hornbacher, who did so thanks to her score of 9.900 for her floor routine. Hornbacher was one of six gymnasts to earn that score and a first-place medal.

Thanks to their finishes, Hornbacher and Alvarado-Reid will each get the opportunity to compete at the NCAA Regional Championships on April 3rd or 4th.

A sophomore, Alvarado-Reid clearly has a bright future in Maroon and Gold. But for Hornbacher and the six other seniors on roster, Saturday's Championships served as a reminder that MacDonald's special class of seniors' time as Chippewas is coming to an end.

"For some of them, today was their first MAC Championship meet," she said. "We had seniors for the first time competing and they crushed it. (Today) was just (one of) those moments that they worked for, and they've continued to never give up. They believe in this program. They are the heart of this program. They are amazing individuals, and the work that they've put in to make this program what it is, it's so special. We are sad to see them leave but so very thankful for all they have given to us over the years."

One of those seniors was Katie Kowalski, who hadn't officially competed in a meet in over a year and only had her first exhibition routine of the season last week. On Saturday, she defied all odds by earning a 9.900 on vault and earning a third-place medal along with fellow senior Elizabeth Cesarone despite not competing in the event all year.

"Really, truly a special moment for her," MacDonald said. "It's emotional. There's a lot of emotion that goes behind that moment. We're super proud of her and just happy for her. She has put in a lot of work to come back. We saw her exhibition last week on beam. (We had) been leading up to that for the last eight months, trying to get her back to a place where we could do that. And then started working vault not that long ago - about a month ago - to where she could actually start to even think about that moment. So to have her come in here today, it meant a lot to our team. She's a spark for us. Those moments you can tell are very emotional for us and I think it just really resonates with the team. That's why we do it. We do it for those special moments."

Having such a special group of seniors can pay off in a big way when it comes to mentorship of the younger gymnasts on roster. With the group helping usher in a new wave of underclassmen preparing to make names for themselves as Chippewas, the future of the program certainly looks bright.

"Our seniors have provided great leadership and really mentored our freshmen starting this summer," MacDonald said. "They came and never left. The freshmen have bought in since day one. They are a huge part of this next chapter of CMU gymnastics, and their fight today really showed resilience. (They have) never give up attitudes, and are just consistently in the moment. Their energy is contagious. So we're looking forward to the next three years of that group. And we're obviously looking forward to our future classes coming in."

Gymnastics medals four times, finishes fourth at MAC Championships

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Players Mentioned

Luciana Alvarado-Reid

Elizabeth Cesarone

Hallie Hornbacher

Katie Kowalski