NIU sophomore gymnast Kristina Campos made her presence felt Saturday against the South Central Region’s best, placing 10th in the all-around competition.

Campos, who finished 17th last year in the Regional competition, managed a 38.950 score this time around, earning scores of 9.775 on the uneven bars and the floor exercise. On the beam and the vault, Campos managed to score a pair of 9.700s.

“She was solid on all four events,” NIU coach Mark Sontag said. “She did much better than last year. This is definitely something for her to be proud of.”

UCLA’s Jamie Dantzscher took first place, tallying a 39.750 while scoring a perfect 10.00 on the floor.

Despite making the top 10, Campos will not advance to the NCAA Regionals. The top two teams and the top all-arounder from any other school qualify for the NCAA Championships, which begin on April 24.

“I was really hoping to come in and hit all four events, and that’s what I did,” she said. “It just happened that my scores weren’t enough to move on, and that’s OK.”

Campos finished the year with several milestones. They included breaking Sandy Menard’s school record in the all-around with a 39.550 in the State of Illinois Classic, three MAC Gymnast of the Week honors and winning MAC Gymnast of the Year.

“I had an awesome season,” Campos said. “I did the best job I could’ve done this weekend, but I just didn’t make it to Nationals. Now I have two years to keep on improving and make it there.”