Utah State defeats Seattle Pacific at home

Utah State gymnastics defeated Seattle Pacific Friday behind a career-high all-around performance from junior McKinzey Martinez.

Utah State now 4-2 on the season and 1-2 in the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference ended the night with an overall score of 194.725 to Seattle Pacific’s 192.075.

Martinez took the all-around competition with a score of 39.300. Senior Sarah Landes took second in the all-around competition with a score of 39.175, and Seattle Pacific’s Sydney Clark took third place with a 38.450.

Martinez spent most of last season out with an injury and since returning has become an important piece of the Aggie’s line-up.

“I just saw her do what she is able to do. It’s so awesome to see her be able to come out and hit all her routines,” USU head coach Nadalie Walsh said. “We did some different things in practice this week to rest her body better, and I think that it really paid off.”

Utah State had individuals place first in each of the four rotations. Junior Miranda Kerr took the vault with a score of 9.850, Martinez took uneven bars with a score of 9.850 and floor with a score of 9.850, and red-shirt sophomore Hayley Sanzotti took the beam with a score of 9.875.

The Aggies notched a 48.900 overall on the vault, a 48.825 on the bars, which was a season-high for the team, a 48.125 on the beam and another season-high 48.874 on the floor.

Starting out the night on the vault, Utah State took first and third overall. Kerr’s first-place finish and Martinez’s third-place score of 9.800 matched with a 9.775 from Sanzotti, 9.750 from sophomore Bailey McItire, 9.725 from Landes and a 9.700 from junior Jillian Chappel gave the Aggies a 48.900 overall.

The Aggies moved from the vault to the uneven bars where they combined for a season-high of 48.825. USU swept the top six places in the event, starting with Martinez at 9.875 and followed by Landes at 9.800, senior Kaitlyn Betts with a 9.775, McIntire at 9.725, sophomore Charly Belliston with a 9.675 and finishing with redshirt freshman Keri Peel at 9.600.

In the third rotation USU moved to the beam where Sanzotti took first place for the Aggies with a score of 9.875. The Aggies swept the top three places with Landes and Martinez tied at second with 9.800. Despite sweeping the placement, Utah State’s overall beam score of 48.125 was a season low.

The Aggies finished their night on the floor where they recorded another season-high team score. Martinez notched a career-high 9.850 to take first overall in the event, followed by Landes at second with a 9.800. Peel scored a career-high 9.750 followed by Sanzotti at 9.750 and McIntire at 9.725.

Utah State will compete again Sunday in Boise when they take on MRGC rival Boise State at 7 p.m.

— emilymarieduke@gmail.com

Twitter: @missemilymduke