MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University freshman Kirah Koshinski was named to the 2016 All-Big 12 Gymnastics Vault Team, as announced by the Conference office today.

 

A native of Berwick, Pennsylvania, Koshinski is only the second Mountaineer gymnast to receive an All-Big 12 honor in four seasons. Senior Jaida Lawrence also was named to the vault team as a freshman in 2013.

 

Seven gymnasts from No. 1-ranked Oklahoma earned 12 All-Big 12 honors, while senior Nina McGee of No. 10 Denver earned three All-Big 12 awards.

 

“I feel honored to earn this award. I’ve put a lot of practice into this season, and it’s nice to see the hard work pay off,” Koshinski said.

 

“It’s great to see Kirah earn this award because it shows that a gymnast can come to WVU and be successful in the Big 12 Conference right away,” WVU coach Jason Butts said. “Kirah is a hard worker, and we knew she would be a top competitor this year.”  

 

The All-Big 12 team includes the top three conference gymnasts with the highest regional qualifying score (RQS) in each event and two all-around competitors. RQS figures are based off the March 14 Road to Nationals Rankings.

 

Koshinski currently is tied for No. 3 in the conference on vault with a 9.89 RQS. She ranks No. 16 nationally and No. 6 in the Southeast region.

 

A five-time Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honoree, Koshinski has scored 9.85 or better on vault in all but one meet this season. She has collected six vault victories this year, including an outright win at No. 16 Denver, with No. 24 Southern Utah, in the season opener on Jan. 9.

 

Koshinski has earned a career-high 9.925 twice this year, most recently in an outright win against Pitt on March 11 at the WVU Coliseum. She has scored 9.9 or better four times and shows a team-best 9.873 season average.

 

A three-event specialist, Koshinski also has competed on floor in all 11 meets this year and ranks No. 8 in the Big 12 with a team-best 9.875 RQS. She has finished first on the event in three of last five meets and has scored 9.9 or better twice in the last three competitions, including a career-high 9.95 in wins over Ohio State and Bowling Green on March 6, at the WVU Coliseum.

 

Koshinski also has competed on balance beam seven times this year and shows an average of 9.718.

 

The Mountaineers (10-6, 0-3) will compete against the Sooners, the Pioneers and Iowa State at the 2016 Big 12 Gymnastics Championship on Saturday, March 19, at 5 p.m. EST, inside the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco, Texas. The meet will be broadcast live on FOX Sports Network and locally on ROOT SPORTS Pittsburgh.

 

Tickets for the championship are available now for purchase at Big12Sports.com. Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for youth (ages 3-12) and $5 for groups of 10 or more.