STATS
CLEVELAND, Ohio ? Iowa State freshman gymnast
Michelle Shealy competed in the all-around at Friday night's session of the NCAA Gymnastics National Championships semi-final round in the Wolstein Center. Shealy scored 39.025 in the all-around which tied her for 13th place in her session.
The Snellville, Ga., native's high score at the event came on floor where she registered a 9.800 to conclude her evening. Shealy was a mere .025 from earning All-America honors on balance beam by scoring 9.750 on the event. She settled for a tie for 11th on the apparatus.
“Michelle's performance was consistent with how with how she competed throughout the year,” Iowa State head coach
Jay Ronayne said. “She did what got her here. The experience that she has gained is something we can build on for next year. She is pretty happy.”
Shealy had a consistent night, scoring 9.750 on vault in her first event, 9.725 on bars, 9.750 on beam and 9.800 on floor.
Shealy was the first Iowa State freshman gymnast to qualify for NCAA nationals as an individual since Erin Dethloff in 2003.
Ronayne also said Shealy greatly benefited from rotating at the meet with Nebraska, a team that qualified for the Super Six.
“It is very important because she got to compete on every event and soak up the whole experience with a team that made the Super Six,” Ronayne said. “Being able to experience what it is like to qualify for the Super Six and what that is all about will help Michelle to put herself and her team in a position to do the same.”