Women's Gymnastics | March 21

BOWLING GREEN, Oh. – The Northern Illinois University gymnastics team competed in the Mid-American Conference Championships at Bowling Green on Saturday, finishing with a team score of 193.675. Three Huskies medaled in junior Mikayla Brown, senior Jocelyn Harbeck and junior Dawsyn Sallee.

"We have more in us as a team, but anytime we can walk away from the championship meet with four top three finishes, it's a good day," said head coach Nita Teague. "We are super proud of all of our athletes, but having Dawsyn win vault and Jocelyn win beam was outstanding."

NIU finished seventh, finishing with its second-highest team score of the season. NIU secured its first MAC Champions on beam and vault since 2024 when Alyssa Al-Ashari won on beam and Kiera O'Shea (Norridge, Ill. / Ridgewood) won on vault.

Harbeck (Frankfort, Ill. / Lincoln-Way East) tied for first on beam in her final competition with NIU with a career-high 9.875 and took home third place in the all-around with a score of 39.075. Saturday was only the second time Harbeck competed as an all-arounder in her four-year career with the Huskies.

Sallee (Versailles, Ky. / Woodford County High) capped her standout junior season on vault by tying a career-high with a 9.850, tying for first place. Sallee scored a 9.700 or higher in all 12 meets this season and entered the MAC Championships with the sixth-best NQS score in the conference.

Brown (Suwanee, Ga. / Peachtree Ridge) had of her best outings of the year on the big stage, tying for third place on beam with a 9.850, tying for ninth on floor with a 9.850 and earning a 9.600 on vault. Saturday was the second time this season in which Brown scored a 9.800 or better across multiple routines.

Both Harbeck and Sallee were selected to the 2026 MAC Gymnastics All-Tournament Team.

As a team, NIU turned in one of its well-rounded performances of the year. The Huskies tied a season-high on vault with a 48.850 and finished with a top-three team score in both beam and floor.

"This was our last appearance at the MAC Championship and it has been a real honor working alongside these amazing coaches," said Teague.

Rotation One – Floor, 48.875
Sallee opened the day for NIU with a 9.700 on floor, followed by Harbeck scoring a 9.750. Senior Samantha Nickle (Yorktown, Va. / York) earned a 9.725, her ninth 9.700 or better this season and fifth consecutive.

The Huskies closed strong thanks to both Brown and freshman Makenna Brooks (Kokomo, Ind. / Eastern) scoring a 9.850, each tying for ninth. Brooks capped her freshman season by earning a 9.800 or higher on floor in three of the last four matches.

Rotation Two – Vault, 48.850
Nickle led the Huskies on vault with a 9.725, tying for her second-best score of the season. Harbeck earned a score of 9.800, tying a career-high.

Sophomores Audrey Brenner and Drake White kept the 9.700s rolling with White (Indianapolis, Ind. / Bishop Chatard) earning a 9.750 and Brenner (Fond du Lac, Wis. / Fond du Lac) scoring a 9.725.

Sallee scored her first-place 9.850 from the anchor position for the Huskies.

Rotation Three – Bars, 47.625
Moving to beam, freshman Avery Riiff (Frankfort, Ill. / Lincoln Way East) led NIU for the fifth time this season with a 9.750. White tied a season-high by scoring a 9.625.

Freshman Deziray Boykin (Henderson, Nev. / Green Valley) closed the routine with a 9.700.

Rotation Four – Beam, 48.325
Junior Isabella Ross (Cary, N.C. / Green Level) began the final rotation by scoring a 9.750, followed by a 9.700 from Brooks.

Harbeck stuck a 9.875, blowing away her previous career-high on 9.725. Brown anchored the final routine of the 2026 season for NIU with a 9.850 to tie a career-high.