Central Michigan University Athletics
Friday, February 28
Normal, Ill.
8 p.m. (ET) / 7 p.m. (CT)
Central Michigan University
195.500
at
195.725
Illinois State
Photo by: Lauren Verellen '26 - @laurenverellen_photography
Gymnastics Posts 195.500 at Illinois State Quad for Second Place
3/1/2025 1:31:00 AM | Gymnastics
Alvarado-Reid earns seventh all-around title of season
NORMAL, Ill. — Central Michigan Gymnastics brought the battle on the road on Friday at the Illinois State Quad with Bowling Green and Centenary College, where the Chippewas scored 195.500 to place a close second to the host Redbirds.
"It was a strong meet for us," said Head Coach Christine MacDonald. "We went 23 for 24 routines, had a lot of individual personal bests to put together a nice away score for the team, which all came from strong performances."
Host ISU scored 195.750. Bowling Green finished third with 193.575 and Centenary College scored 189.250.
The Chippewas earned five podium finishes, including wins on vault and floor from Lia Kmieciak and Luciana Alvarado-Reid, respectively. Alvarado-Reid, a junior, earned her seventh all-around title of the 2025 season.
CMU got the fire going with its start on the uneven bars, where sophomore Gabrielle Johnson stuck a career-best 9.875 to place second on the event. CMU finished with a team score of 49.000.
"Elle's a natural bar swinger," said MacDonald. "She really put in the work over the summer and it's showing up.
"She was an alternate for us last year on bars, and she's finding her flow this year. It's nice to see her in the position where her practice is paying off in competition."
Samantha Shannon's 9.825 on the balance beam was good for a second-place tie in the Chippewas' second rotation of the evening.
CMU scored a 48.925 on the floor exercise before rounding out the evening on vault.
Kmieciak, a senior, shared the event title with a score of 9.825. Avah Bootz, another senior, placed third with a 9.800.
Alvarado-Reid posted a 9.875 on the floor exercise, which helped her to an all-around score of 39.200, alongside a 9.800 on the uneven bars, 9.775 on beam and a 9.750 vault. As of week eight rankings, Alvarado-Reid continues to lead the Mid-American Conference standings in the all-around.
"Lucy continues to put one good meet after another together," MacDonald said of the junior. "Her performance is driven by her energy and her teammates."
"Her teammates surround her, she's somebody who just thrives in competition and is able to stay focused in that moment, and that's the outcome that we're seeing."
Alvarado-Reid was joined by teammate Hannah Appleget, who returned to all-around competition for the third time this season.
The senior scored a season-high 39.025 to place second of three all-around competitors, with a 9.825 on the floor exercise, 9.800 on the balance beam, 9.775 on the uneven bars and 9.625 on vault.
"(Hannah's) been working towards being back in the all-around," MacDonald said. "She's a strong competitor and it's something we've been building to the last couple of months.
"It's not easy to be an all-arounder and we have depth on vault, so when the opportunity arose she was ready to step in."
CMU looks onward to another quad meet on Saturday, March 8, this time at MAC foe Western Michigan alongside Big Ten competitor Illinois and Wilberforce, which is in its first season of competition as the third Historically Black College & University (HBCU) to sponsor a gymnastics program.
"Quad competitions are great as they prepare us for postseason," said MacDonald. "That rotation is a really strong rotation for us, and it's going to be a very unique event at Western, it's going to be on podium and that's a strong competition.
"We're looking ahead and continuing to get better one day at a time."
"It was a strong meet for us," said Head Coach Christine MacDonald. "We went 23 for 24 routines, had a lot of individual personal bests to put together a nice away score for the team, which all came from strong performances."
Host ISU scored 195.750. Bowling Green finished third with 193.575 and Centenary College scored 189.250.
The Chippewas earned five podium finishes, including wins on vault and floor from Lia Kmieciak and Luciana Alvarado-Reid, respectively. Alvarado-Reid, a junior, earned her seventh all-around title of the 2025 season.
CMU got the fire going with its start on the uneven bars, where sophomore Gabrielle Johnson stuck a career-best 9.875 to place second on the event. CMU finished with a team score of 49.000.
"Elle's a natural bar swinger," said MacDonald. "She really put in the work over the summer and it's showing up.
"She was an alternate for us last year on bars, and she's finding her flow this year. It's nice to see her in the position where her practice is paying off in competition."
Samantha Shannon's 9.825 on the balance beam was good for a second-place tie in the Chippewas' second rotation of the evening.
CMU scored a 48.925 on the floor exercise before rounding out the evening on vault.
Kmieciak, a senior, shared the event title with a score of 9.825. Avah Bootz, another senior, placed third with a 9.800.
Alvarado-Reid posted a 9.875 on the floor exercise, which helped her to an all-around score of 39.200, alongside a 9.800 on the uneven bars, 9.775 on beam and a 9.750 vault. As of week eight rankings, Alvarado-Reid continues to lead the Mid-American Conference standings in the all-around.
"Lucy continues to put one good meet after another together," MacDonald said of the junior. "Her performance is driven by her energy and her teammates."
"Her teammates surround her, she's somebody who just thrives in competition and is able to stay focused in that moment, and that's the outcome that we're seeing."
Alvarado-Reid was joined by teammate Hannah Appleget, who returned to all-around competition for the third time this season.
The senior scored a season-high 39.025 to place second of three all-around competitors, with a 9.825 on the floor exercise, 9.800 on the balance beam, 9.775 on the uneven bars and 9.625 on vault.
"(Hannah's) been working towards being back in the all-around," MacDonald said. "She's a strong competitor and it's something we've been building to the last couple of months.
"It's not easy to be an all-arounder and we have depth on vault, so when the opportunity arose she was ready to step in."
CMU looks onward to another quad meet on Saturday, March 8, this time at MAC foe Western Michigan alongside Big Ten competitor Illinois and Wilberforce, which is in its first season of competition as the third Historically Black College & University (HBCU) to sponsor a gymnastics program.
"Quad competitions are great as they prepare us for postseason," said MacDonald. "That rotation is a really strong rotation for us, and it's going to be a very unique event at Western, it's going to be on podium and that's a strong competition.
"We're looking ahead and continuing to get better one day at a time."
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MAC Championships Cinematic Melt
Monday, March 24
Lia Kmieciak Post Championship Interview
Saturday, March 22
Coach MacDonald Post Championship Interview
Saturday, March 22
Hannah Appleget Post Championship Interview
Saturday, March 22