The Lindenwood gymnastics team won its third straight Midwest Independent Conference Championship on Saturday afternoon in Chicago, Ill. The Lady Lions were the first conference member since 2005 to win three or more straight titles.
 
Lindenwood scored a 194.675 at the meet, its best road score of the season and third-best overall mark. Texas Woman's earned runner-up honors, finishing with a 194.000. Rounding out the field were Illinois State (193.575), Illinois Chicago (192.750), Southeast Missouri (192.500), and Centenary (190.350).
 
The Lady Lions started on the floor and got off to a quick lead. Lindenwood scored a 48.950 on the floor and a 48.925 on the vault, and had a lead midway through the competition with a 97.875 score.
 
After being off for a rotation, Lindenwood started the fourth rotation on the bars and ran into some trouble. The Lady Lions had a fall on the fourth routine, but senior Aubree Horn had one of the biggest performances of the day with a 9.800, which put the momentum back in Lindenwood's corner.
 
In the fifth rotation, the Lady Lions again put up their biggest routine after a fall. In Lindenwood's final performance of the competition, Kierstin Sokolowski had a MIC Championship score of 9.850, which gave Lindenwood its final point total. The Lady Lions were on a bye for their final rotation, but they had a big enough lead that the other teams could not catch up to Lindenwood as it watched on.
 
Sokolowski won the beam title and was one of five all-conference performers for Lindenwood. She also earned all-conference on the vault. Katey Oswalt earned three all-MIC honors on the vault, beam, and floor. She tied for second on the vault with a 9.850, tied for second on the beam with a 9.775, and was third on the floor with a 9.875. Horn also earned first-team honors on the bars by placing third with her 9.800 mark.
 
Second-team honors went to Hannah Rector and Andavea Alexander. Rector, the second senior performing for the Lady Lions, earned her award on the beam after placing fifth with a 9.700 score. Alexander was all-conference on the bars by finishing sixth with a 9.750 mark. Lindenwood's senior class of Horn, Rector, Mackenzie McMullan, and Olivia Oswalt will graduate with three conference championship rings, the first in program history to leave with three titles.
 
Several first-year gymnasts played a key role in the title. Katie Bailey had a 9.725 on the bars, Taylor Colwell had a 9.700 on the floor, Breanna Franklin had three scores of 9.650 or higher, including a 9.800 on the floor, and Ryan Henry had a 9.750 on the floor and 9.775 on the vault.
 
Lindenwood has now won three MIC titles in five years in the league. It already has more MIC Championships than any conference school except for two.
 
Lindenwood learns its postseason fate next week. It is expected to earn one of the top team seeds at the USA Gymnastics Women's College National Championships, and could also receive individual bids to the NCAA Regional Championships.