CEDAR CITY, Utah – The BYU women’s gymnastics team earned a second-place finish in its final Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference Championship with a score of 196.575. No. 21 Southern Utah took home the crown for the first time in program history with a 196.875 at the America First Event Center.

FINAL MEET RESULTS

The Boise State Broncos took third with a 196.000 and the Utah State Aggies rounded out the competition with a team score of 195.825. Senior beam captain Elease Rollins took home the highest score of the night with a 9.975 on the balance beam.

BYU opened its final MRGC Championship with six scores above 9.800 on floor. Sophomore Eliza Millar's energetic floor routine started the night off strong for the Cougars with a score of 9.800. She was followed by a pair of 9.825s from Sydney Benson and Heidi Schooley. Sophie Dudley and Rollins both added 9.850s individually with Rebekah Ripley rounding out the first rotation with a team-high 9.875.

After rotation one, the Cougars held the lead with a 49.225, followed by SUU (49.100), Utah State (48.900) and Boise State (48.775).

BYU soared on vault in the second rotation. Freshman Madison Raesly-Patton started with a 9.800 for the Cougars, followed by a 9.850 from Benson. With a 9.875 by freshman Kylie Eaquinto, BYU ended with a team vault score of 49.050.

With a 49.300 team score on beam in the second rotation, SUU took the lead (98.400). BYU followed close behind with a 98.275, with Boise State and Utah State tied for third with 97.925s, respectively. 

The Cougars continued their momentum on the uneven bars in the third rotation. Allix Mason and Benson started off with a pair 9.800s, followed by a 9.875 from Eaquinto to tie her career high on the apparatus. Anna Bramblett finished with a 9.850 as the Cougars ended with a team bars score of 49.125.

SUU held onto its lead through the first three rotations with a 147.575. After another solid rotation, the Cougars held their second-place position with a 147.400, followed by Boise State (147.100) and Utah State (146.850).

The Cougars ended the night on the balance beam. Raesly-Patton got things started for BYU with a 9.800, followed by a 9.850 from sophomore Mina Margraf. Rollins tied her career high on the beam with a 9.975 to complete a team beam score of 49.175, BYU ended the night with a 196.575 for a second-place finish.

After the meet, the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference honored the top gymnasts in each event for the year. 

Below is the list of awards given to BYU gymnasts:

Sydney Benson: 2023 Co-Vault Specialist of the Year

Elease Rollins: Beam Specialist of the Year

Anyssa Alvarado: All-MRGC Second Team Bars

Kylie Eaquinto: Freshman of the Year, All-MRGC First Team Vault

Rollins earned MRGC Beam Specialist of the Year for the second year in a row, with a final NQS score of 9.910. Benson shared Co-Vault Specialist of the Year honors with Boise State’s Emily Lopez after receiving an NQS score of 9.865.

Eaquinto was named to the MRGC First Team for Vault after scoring above a 9.8 on the apparatus in all but one meet this season. She was also named MRGC Freshman of the Year after competing on the vault and uneven bars in every meet. 

As the BYU bars captain, Alvarado was named to the MRGC Second Team on Bars after receiving scores above 9.800 in every meet of the 2023 season.

With the conference championships finished, BYU awaits details about regionals.

PROVO, Utah – The BYU women’s gymnastics team prepares to battle for the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference crown at the 2023 MRGC Championship on Saturday at the America First Event Center in Cedar City, Utah, at 6 p.m. MDT.

MEET NOTES

The Cougars will face No. 21 Southern Utah, No. 35 Boise State and No. 45 Utah State. Among the four teams, SUU ranks first in the conference, followed by Boise State, BYU and Utah State. BYU is ranked second in all four events amongst conference foes, and ranked No. 26 nationally on the uneven bars. 

Last season, Utah State earned the title MRGC Champions with a score of 197.025, followed by Boise State's 196.550, SUU’s 196.500 and BYU’s 196.375. The Cougars also earned eight all-conference honors following the 2022 MRGC Championship meet, including the Gymnast of the Year honor presented to All-American, Sadie Miner-Van Tassell.  

Meet Information

• When: Saturday, March 18
• Time: 6 p.m. MDT
• Location: America First Event Center
• Live Stream: ESPN+
• Live Stats: SUU Stats

THE COUGARS. Currently ranked No. 34, the Cougars prepare to battle in their final MRGC Championship before moving to the Big 12 Conference next year. BYU traveled to Arizona for its final meet of the regular season on Friday, March 10 at the McKale Memorial Center. With a score of 196.050, the Cougars fell to the Wildcats’ 197.275. With individual scores of 9.900 on vault, Sydney Benson and Allix Mason earned MRGC Co-Vault Specialist of the Week honors in the final week of regular-season meets. Sophie Dudley also earned her second Co-Floor Specialist of the Week honor in a row after notching a 9.900 on the apparatus.

THE AGGIES. Currently ranked No. 45, USU heads into the MRGC Championship as No. 4 in the conference. Utah State closed out its regular season with a fourth-place finish at the Cal quad meet on Friday evening at the Haas Pavilion. With a fall and injury on beam in the first rotation, the Aggies were not able to overcome the score deficit. Despite the loss, Utah State’s Alivia Ostendorf and Ariel Toomey each notched scores of 9.900 on floor, earning them MRGC Co-Floor Specialist of the Week honors.

THE BRONCOS. Currently ranked No. 35, BSU prepares for the MRGC Championship ranked close behind SUU as No. 2 in the conference. Boise State finished out its regular season with a second-place finish behind No. 8 Alabama 197.125-194.775 at the Coleman Coliseum. The Broncos struggled out the gate, falling behind the Crimson Tide by 1.350 after the first rotation. Despite the loss, Boise State’s Courtney Blackson earned MRGC Co-Vault and Co-Floor Specialist of the Week honors with scores of 9.900 on each event.

THE THUNDERBIRDS. Currently ranked No. 21, SUU prepares to host the MRGC Championship as the favorites. The Flippin' Birds finished off the regular season with a win Friday night over the University of Iowa and San Jose State University. The Thunderbirds scored a massive 196.900 to take the top spot followed by the Hawkeyes who finished with a 196.425 and the Spartans who posted a 195.425. SUU collected five MRGC weekly awards in the final week of competition, led by senior Karley McClain’s 49.375, earning her MRGC Gymnast of the Week for the eighth time this season.