Gymnastics Places Five on All-MAC Teams

CLEVELAND - - Five members of the Ball State gymnastics program were honored for their work over the course of the 2026 season Tuesday when the Mid-American Conference announced its annual All-MAC awards.

Representing the Cardinals on the All-MAC First Team were juniors Ava Molina and Ashley Szymanski. Earning All-MAC Second Team honors were junior Delaney McMahon and senior Zoe Middleton. Freshman Carley Stalder was also recognized on the inaugural All-MAC Freshman Team.

AVA MOLINA - ALL-MAC FIRST TEAM - FLOOR
Junior Ava Molina earns All-MAC honors for the first time in her career after leading the squad and ranking second among all league gymnasts with a floor NQS of 9.870 ... Of her 11 floor routines this season, nine have scored at least 9.800 with season-highs of 9.900 versus Bowling Green (Jan. 18) and at the SEMO Quad (Feb. 1) ... Her 9.900s on floor tie as the best floor score in the MAC this season ... She also has three wins on floor this season.

Molina has also been a staple on both bars and beam for the Cardinals this season ... She has a bars NQS of 9.750 and a beam NQS of 9.615 ... Molina recorded a season-high bars score of 9.800 versus Eastern Michigan (Feb. 15) and a career-best beam score of 9.825 at Northern Illinois.

ASHLEY SZYMANSKI - ALL-MAC FIRST TEAM - BEAM
Junior Ashley Szymanski earns All-MAC honors for the third time in her career and for the first time on beam ... A four-time MAC Specialist of the Week this season, she led all league gymnasts with a 9.870 beam NQS, earning 9.800-or-higher in all 11 of her beam routines ... A seven-time beam winner, Szymanski tied the program record with a score of 9.925 at Western Michigan (Feb. 22) ... She also earned a 9.900 one week earlier at Eastern Michigan (Feb. 15).

Along with her beam numbers, Szymanski finished the regular season ranked second in the MAC with a bars NQS of 9.895 ... She scored at least 9.800 in eight of her bars routines, led by marks of 9.950 at the second Ball State Tri (Feb. 8) and versus Eastern Michigan (Feb. 15) ... She also captured six event wins on bars.

DELANEY McMAHON - ALL-MAC SECOND TEAM - BEAM
Junior Delaney McMahon earns All-MAC honors for the first time in her career after ranking second in the league with a beam NQS of 9.860 ... A four-time event winner on beam, McMahon tied the program record with her second career 9.925 at Western Michigan (Feb. 22) ... She also earned a 9.900 one week earlier versus Eastern Michigan (Feb. 15), while earning seven scores of 9.800-or-higher on the year.

McMahon also made her collegiate debut on bars during the 2026 season, including registering a career-high 9.800 at the second Ball State Tri (Feb. 8) ... Of her 11 bars routines this season, five scored 9.725-or-higher.

ZOE MIDDLETON - ALL-MAC SECOND TEAM - ALL-AROUND
Senior Zoe Middleton earns All-MAC honors for the third straight season and for the first time on vault ... She turned in the league's best individual vault this season with a score of 9.925 at the Maryland Quad (March 7) and ranks third in the MAC with a vault NQS of 9.835 ... Of her nine vaults this season, six scored at least 9.800.

In addition to shining on vault, Middleton ranks second in the league with an all-around NQS of 39.150 ... In fact, she is the only MAC gymnast to register a score of at least 9.900 on all four apparatus this season ... A MAC Specialist (Jan. 12) and MAC Gymnast of the Week (Feb. 24) honoree, Middleton's pair of 9.900s on floor also tie as the best floor scores in the MAC this season ... In addition, she also ties for the fourth-highest beam score (9.900) and fifth-best bars score (9.900) among MAC gymnasts in 2026 ... The effort has helped her capture six all-around titles, as well as six individual event wins, again with at least one win in all four events.

CARLEY STALDER - ALL-MAC FRESHMAN TEAM
Freshman Carley Stalder earns All-MAC Freshman honors after being the highest ranked freshman in the league on vault this season with an NQS of 9.815 which was fifth among all MAC gymnasts ... She opened her career by winning her very first collegiate event with a career-best vault score of 9.850 in the first Ball State Tri (Feb. 11) ... It was her first three vault wins on the season and five overall victories as she also claimed one win each on beam and floor.

A staple on all three events for the Cardinals this season, Stalder won her beam title with a career-best 9.875 at Northern Illinois and claimed her floor win with a career-best 9.875 at the Maryland Quad ... Overall, Stalder collected 13 scores of 9.800-or-higher in her first collegiate season.

2026 All-MAC First Team
Vault – Charlie Behner, Senior, Kent State (9.845)
Bars – Lia Kmieciak, Graduate Student, Central Michigan (9.905)
Beam – Ashley Szymanski, Junior, Ball State (9.870)
Floor – Ava Molina, Junior, Ball State (9.870)
All-Around – Luciana Alvarado-Reid, Senior, Central Michigan (39.345)

2026 All-MAC Second Team
Vault – Zoe Middleton, Senior, Ball State (9.835)
Vault – Jersey Bingman, Sophomore, Kent State (9.835)
Bars – Reese Samuelson, Junior, Western Michigan (9.855)
Bars – Kaitlyn Schwab, Sophomore, Central Michigan (9.835)
Beam – Delaney McMahon, Junior, Ball State (9.860)
Beam – Heidi Schultz, Senior, Kent State (9.850)
Floor – Kayla Shaw, Sophomore, Bowling Green (9.855)
Floor – Brooke Gelesko, Junior, Western Michigan (9.850)
All-Around – Kyrie Lowe, Senior, Eastern Michigan (39.000)

2026 All-MAC Freshman Team
Vault – Carley Stalder, Ball State (9.815)
Bars – Lana Mast, Kent State (9.745)
Beam – Isabella Ciolfi, Western Michigan (9.740)
Floor – Macy Nihart, Eastern Michigan (9.790)
All-Around – N/A

Ball State University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Delaney McMahon

Zoe Middleton

Ava Molina

Carley Stalder

Ashley Szymanski

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