The UW Oshkosh gymnastics program won its fifth straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title in La Crosse March 8.
Eight different schools participated, but the Titans were the only team to achieve a score higher than 193, bringing home the program’s 19th WIAC title with 193.925 score. This broke their previous WIAC championship score record of 193.1. UW-La Crosse finished second with 192.975 and UW-Whitewater came in third with 192.85 points.
The event also served as the National Collegiate Gymnastics Associate West Regional Qualifier, which means UWO and UWL earned automatic bids to the NCGA championship.
UWO senior Delaney Cienkus was named the Kwik Trip Gymnast of the Year. Cienkus received the award because of her performances on the balance beam and floor exercise, as well as being on the No. 1 ranked team in the nation.
“Being able to graduate this year and know that I have had an impact on this program means everything to me,” Cienkus said. “If you had told me my freshman year that I would accomplish everything that I have, I would have never believed you.”
UWO collectively placed top three in each of the four events of the day, winning the uneven bars with a score of 48.4 and in the floor exercise with 48.875. On the vault, UWO tied with UW-Stout for third, both scoring 48.475 points. On the balance beam, the Titans scored 48.175 points, good enough for second place.
In the Titans’ first rotation of the day, they took part in the vault event. Amaya McConkay was the Titans highest scorer, recording a 9.775 in a three way tie for fifth, and Mia Lucero tied for eighth after scoring a 9.75. Notably, not a single Titan scored under 9.5 in the event.
On the uneven bars, McConkay was the Titans highest scorer with 9.8, winning the event and crowning herself as an individual champion. Reanna McGibboney placed second with a 9.75 and Lydia Hayden tied for fourth with a score of 9.7. Zoe Krull scored a 9.6 for the Titans, and Sam Zeilinger and Averie Evans each added a 9.55 and 9.45, respectively.
Hayden led the Titans with a 9.725 and tied for fifth in the balance beam. UWO’s Liz Romano scored a 9.7, good enough for seventh place, and Cienkus tied for eighth with a 9.675. Jay Ratkowski was the next highest scoring Titan with a 9.6. Jurnee Warkentien and Emma Steele scored a 9.475 and 9.35, respectively, for UWO.
UWO took part in the floor exercise in their final rotation of the day. Not a single Titan scored under 9.7. Ratkowski was crowned individual champion of the event after she scored a 9.825. Lucero came second in the event with a score of 9.8. UWO’s Aleah Radojevich and Warkentien found themselves in a tie for third with three other participating athletes with scores of 9.775 each. Cienkus and McGibboney both added a 9.7, respectively.
The team faced adversity this season when they experienced their first regular season loss since 2023, but have earned an automatic bid to potentially win its fourth straight national title.
“I believe the losses we experienced this season were the push we needed to find our way back to being the team we knew we could be,” Cienkus said. “I don’t think we would have been able to get to where we are at this point in the season without having to fight through the adversity that those losses presented us with.”
Cienkus and Titans gymnastics return to action at the NCGA championship, hosted by Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota, March 22.
