Still looking to advance
The gymnastics gods answered the prayers of the Utah State University women’s team Friday.
Not only were they able to put together a clean meet in the inaugural Western Gymnastics Conference Championships, the Aggies did it in style, setting records all over the floor of competition.
“There was certainly a great performance [Friday] by Utah State,” USU Head Coach Ray Corn said.
The Aggies finished the meet in third place (195.550) behind Denver University (195.825) and Southern Utah University (195.575). Boise State (194.900) and Cal State Fullerton (193.250) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
For the fourth consecutive meet, USU did not have to count a team fall, although seniors Kimberly Scharman and Stephanie Gordon both suffered falls.
Corn said Scharman’s fall on bars put a lot of pressure on the remaining competitors.
“Boy, did they come through in brilliant flying colors,” he said.
Behind freshman Katie Rutherford, who scored a career-high 9.925 on the event, the Aggies recorded its sixth best bar team score in school history (49.025).
Rutherford shared the individual league championship on the event with Cal State Fullerton’s Kelly Mathiasen.
Junior Aggie Nicole Kilpatrick tied a career high with a 9.825 on the bars.
Hitting their routines on bars made everything else seem a little easier for the Aggies.
The team next moved to the beam and recorded it’s season-best score of 48.750, led by senior Kirra Seeley (9.850).
“It was there for us tonight,” Corn said.
Corn said it was crucial the Aggies did not get too overconfident after the team was so successful on its first event.
Sometimes if a team does well on one event, they will falter on the next, he said.
This was not the case for Utah State, who remained consistent through the entire meet.
Following beam, the Aggies moved to floor, falling just .05 off its season-best mark. The team recorded a 48.900 on the event.
Abrego led the team with a 9.925 on the floor, the fourth best score in school history.
During its final rotation, Utah State posted a 48.825 on the vault.
Kilpatrick scored a 9.925 for the second-best mark in Utah State history.
She solely won the individual league championship on the event.
Corn said the team finally got what it was looking for from Abrego and Kilpatrick – a one-two punch.
Both scored over the 39.000 mark in the all-around competition.
Boise State’s Jamie Johns won the all-around (39.425).
Although the Aggies do not know for sure whether their season is over or not, Corn said the team achieved its goal for the meet.
“Win, lose or draw, our focus here is to move on and get into the regional meet,” Corn said.
The NCAA regionals are April 5 in Denver, Colo, hosted by the DU Pioneers.
“We had a great time [in Logan],” DU Head Coach Melissa Kutcher said. “It was great practice for us because we are hosting in Denver.”