Gymnastics wins at home against Alaska Anchorage
USU gymnastics faced off against Alaska Anchorage on Friday night in the Spectrum, and the night ended in the Aggies favor 194.925 to 192.675.
“It wasn’t as good as last weekend. We still have some things to work on, but overall it ended up being a successful night.” said sophomore Autumn DeHarde.
Last weekend the Aggies were successful at an out of state quad-meet in West Virginia, where they clenched a 196.075 to win their first quad-meet since 2015.
“We had three good events. Tonight was a good meet, it wasn’t a great meet. Last weekend was a great meet. I think beam will be there next week, and we can put a few more tenths back in on other events too and punch back up to that 196 score.” said head coach Amy Smith. “We aren’t going to do 195’s this year, we’re going to do 196 from here on out.”
The Aggies took the top three spots in all events on Friday, except for one. Multiple gymnasts earned career-best scores, with freshman Grace Rojas on the vault with 9.800 and junior Makayla Bullitt on the bars with a 9.825. That win on the bars was Bullitt’s first event win of her career. DeHarde won the beam event with her 9.875, and senior Madison Ward-Sessions tied her career-best 9.925 score during the floor routine.
Two USU gymnasts competed in the all-around, with Ward-Sessions claiming her third all-around title of the season with her 39.200, and sophomore Leighton Varnadore placed second in the competition with 39.150.
During the floor portion of the night, Utah State finished with their second-best event score with a 49.000. Ward-Sessions took control with her 9.925, with both DeHarde and Leighton Varnadore both contributing 9.875 scores. Those two 9.875 scores served as a season-best for DeHarde, and a career high for Varnadore.
“I’m really proud at how they finished it out, and really proud how the rest of the day went. They kept battling, they kept the energy up, and that’s all we ask for.” commented Coach Smith.
Next week the team will be on the road at No. 10 Boise State for a tri meet including No. 18 Washington on Friday, March 1.