On Mar. 8, 2025, the Winona State University women’s gymnastics team traveled to La Crosse for the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championship meet. 364 days later, the Warriors looked built on this accolade in front of their home crowd in McCown Gymnasium during the 2026 WIAC championship event for the first time since 2017. Not only was it a day of recognition for national championship qualifiers, but Winona State also completed another historic performance in their penultimate event of the season.
Kaylee Bateman, a senior gymnast for the Warriors, talked about Head Coach Dr. Stephanie Geislinger’s approach to this year’s conference meet.
“Leading up to the WIAC Championship coach has emphasized how important it is for us to trust ourselves and trust our training. She has always told us that she believes in us and now it’s are time to show what we have been working on for months.”
As the team’s events transpired, the Warriors had plenty of great scores across the board. Starting with the bars, they earned a team score of 47.400. Jessica Miley earned the highest tally for the team, picking up a score of 9.625. First year gymnast Harper Hamilton was second-highest scorer with a 9.525. Hamilton also tied for first on the team for the balance beam with Kaelyn Duman. Both picked up a score of 9.775, which contributed to the team’s score of 47.875. These events each fall into the sixth highest score in Warrior gymnastics history.
Second-year athlete Gabby Kraft discussed the feelings that came with participating in this record-breaking night.
“I am most excited about the floor at this meeting. The whole team brings so much energy on floor, and it carries into all the other events.”
Reaching all-time marks was a common trend for the rest of the night, as the floor routine for Winona State scored the second highest in program history. Frankie Jo MacAskill and Kraft led in individual tally with scores of 9.775. Taylor Magierka also earned a high mark with a 9.725 in this event. Irene Kearney picked up the top score for the vault event, finishing with a 9.675. MacAskill finished just behind her with a solo score of 9.650. The team gained the eighth largest tally in program history for the vault routine. But did the Warriors continue the streak?
Yes, Winona State finished with the highest team score in program history for the second year in a row. They finished with a 191.925 after all events concluded, jumping over last year’s WIAC championship meet. They would go on to finish fifth as a team in the conference meet. With a storybook ending the WIAC Championship, Winona State looked to see who was going to make the national championships.
MacAskill motioned towards looking at the next level for the Warrior gymnastics program.
“This whole season, truly, we have had this pure determination to go out there and go to nationals, this team for the first time in a long time was put together by the same person, every single one of us plays a special role in making the nationals dream come true”
After their successful performance at McCown, the Warriors will be sending four individuals to the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) championships. With Kearney moving to nationals for the vault event, Kraft and Hamilton moving on for the balance beam and MacAskill will advance for her work in the floor routine. The NCGA championship will take place on Mar. 20 in Cortland, NY.
