Five Spartans Earn Big Ten All-Conference Gymnastics Honors
3/15/2023 3:45:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
ROSEMONT, Ill. - Five Michigan State gymnasts have earned All-Big Ten Gymnastics accolades, as announced by the conference Wednesday.Â
Freshman Nikki Smith, sophomores Skyla Schulte and Gabrielle Stephen, along with junior Delanie Harkness received first-team honors, while junior Baleigh Garcia was named Second-Team All-Big Ten.Â
MSU's four first-team honors are the most in program history. The Spartans' five total selections is the second-most in program history, just shy of MSU's six selections in 2022.Â
Schulte, a native of Bolingbrook, Illinois, earns her second-straight First-Team All-B1G honor. The sophomore has competed in the all-around in every meet but one this season, posting career highs of 9.925 on vault, 9.950 on bars, and 9.975 on floor, while earning seasons highs of 9.925 on beam and 39.525Â in the all-around. She has collected six event titles this season and earned a 9.900 or better on floor in MSU's last six meets.Â
Schulte's 9.975 sits in an eight-way tie for the top score all-time in program history, while her 9.950 on bars sits in a nine-way tie for third-best all-time at MSU. She ranks 24th nationally in the all-around with a national qualifying score of 39.450 and 28th on floor with an NQS of 9.925.Â
Stephen joins Schulte as a two-time All-Conference First Team honoree. The Elgin, Illinois native set career highs on vault (9.950), bars (9.975), floor (9.975) and in the all-around (39.725) this season, with her all-around score ranking second all-time in MSU history. Stephen has collected a team-high 17 event titles this season, including five in the all-around. Her 9.975s on bars and floor both rank second all-time at MSU. Â
The sophomore collected two Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honors this season. She ranks 21st nationally in the all-around with an NQS of 39.510 and 15th on vault with an NQS of 9.910.Â
Schulte and Stephen are the sixth and seventh MSU gymnasts to earn multiple First-Team All-Conference honors since the conference began naming first and second teams in 2003.
Smith is one of two freshmen to be named to the conference's first team alongside Ohio State's Payton Harris. Smith has quickly rewritten the record books in her rookie season with the Spartans, recording career highs of 10.000 on vault, 9.970 on bars, 9.925 on beam and 9.975 on floor. She broke the MSU all-around record with a score of 39.775 on March 5 in the Spartans' program record-setting meet against Bowling Green and LIU. Her 10.000 on bars, also earned on March 5, marked the third 10.000 in program history. She is one of 11 athletes in the NCAA to score a 10.000 on vault this season and the only freshman to do so.Â
The West Bloomfield, Michigan native collected six Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors this season, the most of any gymnast in the league. She has earned 12 event titles this season and ranks 23rd nationally in the all-around with an NQS of 39.490.Â
Harkness earns her second-straight All-Big Ten honor, collecting first-team honors for the first time in her career after being named to the All-Big Ten Second Team last season. A staple in the Spartan bars and floor lineup, she has posted career highs of 9.950 on both events this season and has earned four bars titles and two floor titles. The junior has also been in the beam lineup in the Spartans' last five meets, posting a career-high 9.900 during MSU's win over Bowling Green and LIU on March 5.Â
A native of Leslie, Michigan, Harkness ranks 25th nationally on bars with an NQS of 9.915.Â
Garcia earns her second-straight All-Big Ten Second-Team honor. The Boynton Beach, Florida native has been the Spartans' anchor performer on beam every meet this season, posting a career-high 9.950 on the event. The junior has also competed on vault and floor, earning a season-high of 9.850 on vault and career-high 9.850 on floor.Â
Garcia ranks 33rd nationally on beam with an NQS of 9.905. Her 9.950 career-high on the event ranks second-all time at MSU.Â
The Spartans head to Coralville, Iowa for the Big Ten Championships on March 18 at Iowa's Xtream Arena. The Spartans will compete in the evening session with Michigan, Ohio State and Iowa, set for 5:30 p.m. CT/4:30 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network. Live results will be available on MSUSpartans.com.
Players Mentioned
