Freshman’s excitment helps lead Aggies
“I was a little overly excited tonight,” said Aggie gymnast Katie Rutherford following the Western Gymnastics Conference Championships Friday.
But her excitement helped the Aggies record their highest team score of the season (195.550). Rutherford led the team on the uneven bars in the first rotation.
Her score of 9.925 was enough to win her the conference title in the event and was the highest posted by the Aggies this season.
After her performance, she did the shotgun.
“It’s just the pumping of the arms,” she said. “We do it when we stick our landings.”
Head Coach Ray Corn then lifted Rutherford up to the chants of a perfect score from the crowd.
“I knew she could score that high if she just put it together,” said senior gymnast Jessenia Abrego. “Her bar routine is so awesome. I think she should have scored a 10.”
Rutherford said she was glad just to stick her routine.
“I was just trying to hit it,” she said. “I’m been having trouble lately on the bars. I was excited to make it through that.”
The Aggies scored a 49.025 team score on the bars. Aggie gymnast Nicole Kilpatrick said the score gave Utah State confidence for the rest of the meet.
“Our whole bar team did the best routines they’ve done all season,” she said. “We had a lot of momentum going into the other events.
Corn said, “Going over the 49 mark on the bars certainly was the trigger. I thought it was a great event.”
Rutherford, a freshman, also posted the second-highest mark for the Aggies on the beam.
Her 9.775 was the 12th best on the conference.
When Rutherford wasn’t competing, she was cheering and getting the crowd involved.
“Katie is so into this,” Corn said. “I almost had to tie her down and hold her. She’s like a top.
“Katie’s a breath of fresh air coming into the gym.”
Corn complimented all of the freshmen on the team. He said they liked being part of a team, instead of focusing on themselves like they did in private clubs.
“They’re a group of freshmen with tremendous team spirit,” he said.
Rutherford said, “The crowd, everything just happened tonight. Ray likes to get into it. I just wanted us to do well.”