WIAC Championship/NCGA West Regional Website
Oshkosh, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse gymnastics squad finished second at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship (presented by Culver's) and National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) West Regional Saturday night in UW-Oshkosh's Kolf Sports Center.
The Eagles finished with a team score of 191.850 while UW-Oshkosh took the team title wiht 193.100. UW-Sotut placed third (190.475) followed by UW-Whitewater (189.550), Winona State University, Minn. (187.675), Gustavus Adolphus College, Minn. (186.925), UW-Eau Claire (184.975) and Hamline University, Minn. (184.025).
With its top-three finishes, UW-Oshkosh, UWL and UW-Stout qualify for the NCGA Championships scheduled for Saturday, March 25 at Winona State.
UWL's
Rachel Chesley recorded three top-three individual finishes on Saturday. She tied for the conference title on the uneven parallel bars (9.600) while placing second on the floor exercise (9.800) and tied for third on the vault (9.775).
Alex Wood had a pair of top-10 finishes after tying for fifth on the vault (9.750) and tied for 10th on the floor exercise (9.675).
Along with Chesley winning the uneven parallel bars title,
Kerrie Legault was fifth (9.550),
Madi Vanderpool tied for sixth (9.525),
Ashlyn Barker tied for 10th (9.350) and
Claudia Walter tied for 12th (9.325).
The Eagles'
Jessica Taylor tied for fourth (9.750) on the floor exercise with
Caelen Lansing placing seventh (9.725).
Kyla Dickson tied for eighth (9.725) on the balance beam.
At the conclusion of the championships, UWL's
Kasey Crawford was selected the 2022-23 Kwik Trip Coach of the Year while
Cate Sandvik was named the Kwik Trip Co-Gymnast of the Year with UW-Stout's Kiara Brown. Vanderpool was named to the All-WIAC Sportsmanship Team.
Crawford is in her seventh season as UWL's head coach in 2022-23. She led the Eagles to a WIAC Championship in 2018 and second-place finishes at the NCGA Championships in 2017 and 2018. The Eagles finished third at the 2022 NCGA Championships. UWL qualified for the 2020 NCGA Championships, but the meet was canceled due to the COVID-19 public health threat.
An assistant coach at UWL for eight seasons, Crawford earned the 2015-16 NCGA West Region Assistant Coach of the Year award after helping lead UWL to its second straight national title. She was named the 2011-12 and 2012-13 NCGA North Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year. Crawford was a four-year letter winner and two-year team captain at UWL, competing from 2004-08.
