Erik Lewis, who is in his fourth year overall at Utah State, is in his second season as an associate head coach for the Aggies. He is the head bars and floor coach.
Despite battling through a year of uncertainty with the COVID-19 pandemic, Utah State still enjoyed one of its finest seasons in program history in 2021 as the Aggies competed in their 26th NCAA Regional Championship, including their first since 2017.
Lewis coached Grace Rojas, who led Utah State on bars in 2021 as she averaged 9.809 on the event, which ranks third all-time in school history. As a team, the Aggies averaged 48.877, good enough for fourth-best in school history. Utah State scored a 49.025 on bars at Salt Lake City NCAA Regional Second Round, which was held at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. The 49.025 is the second-best score the team has ever produced at a regional meet.
Autumn DeHarde led the Aggies on floor in 2021 with an average of 9.864, which ranks fifth all-time in school history. Utah State began the NCAA Regional Championships on floor with a 49.125, which set a school record for a regional meet. Leading the way on the event was Rebecca Wells, who tied for third overall with a career-high 9.900, which ranks third all-time for a regional meet. DeHarde tied for 13th on floor with a 9.875, which is tied for fourth for a regional.
As a team, the Aggies averaged 49.036 on floor during 2021, which ranks fourth all-time in school history.
Leighton Varnadore garnered first-team all-Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference (MRGC) honors in the all-around during the season, while Wells made her debut in the all-around at the NCAA Regional Championships, where she recorded a 39.200, which is the best score in school history for a regional meet.
Utah State recorded three of its best all-time team scores in school history in 2021 with a 196.775 (third) at the Denver tri meet, a 196.600 (tied for fifth) at BYU and a 196.500 (seventh) at Utah. Inside the friendly confines of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, the Aggies had a 196.250 in the MRGC Championships and a 196.225 against Southern Utah, which rank seventh and eighth all-time at home.
Utah State notched four of its best away scores in school history with a 196.775 (third) at the Denver tri meet, a 196.600 (fourth) at BYU, a 196.500 (fifth) at Utah and a 196.250 (seventh) at Boise State.
During the 2020 campaign, Lewis helped coach the MRGC Gymnast of the Year (DeHarde) and MRGC Freshman of the Year (Sofi Sullivan). DeHarde also earned MRGC co-Beam and co-Floor Specialist of the Year accolades, and was named to the first team on both events. Sullivan shared the MRGC Co-Beam Specialist of the Year award with DeHarde, and also earned first-team honors on the event.
DeHarde averaged 9.883 on floor, which ranks second all-time in single-season school history. She had a career-high 9.950 on the event against No. 17 BYU, which is tied for third all-time in school history, and also had a 9.925 against No. 20 Southern Utah, which is tied for 17th all-time in school history.
Lewis also coached Varnadore, who averaged 9.839 on floor, which is tied for 11th all-time in single-season school history. Varnadore, a second-team all-MRGC honoree on vault, tied for eighth in the conference with a National Qualifying Score (NQS) of 9.855 on floor. She had a career-high 39.350 in the all-around at the Boise State quad meet.
Under Lewis’ guidance in 2020, Rojas averaged 9.800 on bars, which ranks fourth all-time in school history. Rojas ranked 10th in the MRGC with an NQS of 9.825 on bars.
Utah State averaged 48.756 on bars, which is tied for seventh all-time in single-season school history, and averaged 48.992 on floor, which ranks sixth all-time in single-season school history.
The Aggies finished the 2020 campaign with a 7-6-1 overall record, marking the first time since 1999 that they ended the season with a winning record. Furthermore, Utah State went undefeated (4-0) at home for just the second time in school history, joining the 1978 (8-0) team.
In the home meet against BYU, Utah State had a 49.275 on bars, which is tied for seventh all-time in school history.
In 2019, Lewis helped coach two gymnasts that qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships in Madison Ward-Sessions (all-around, floor) and MaKayla Bullitt (bars). Ward-Sessions placed 13th in the all-around (38.425).
Lewis also coached Varnadore, who garnered second-team all-MRGC honors in the all-around, as did Ward-Sessions. Bullitt tied for third on the team with a pair of event titles – both on bars – and her Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 9.845 tied for 93rd nationally.
The Aggies averaged 48.885 on bars in 2019, which ranks third all-time in school history. Ward-Sessions averaged 9.792 on the event, which is seventh all-time in single-season school history.
Lewis came to Utah State after spending the previous year as the program director for Roswell Gymnastics in Roswell, Georgia. Not only did Lewis coach level 5-10 men’s and women’s teams, and NCAA gymnasts, he also developed budgets and allocated funds, led recruiting efforts, and planned and directed meets hosted by Roswell Gymnastics.
During his time at Roswell Gymnastics, Lewis oversaw a $266,000 athletic financial fund, created pre-team and team lesson plans, created and managed rotations for all events, supervised preschool and recreational classes, and managed enrollment for recreational programs.
Prior to working at Roswell Gymnastics, Lewis spent three years (2014-17) in a similar role as the program director at Armory Athletics in Montgomery, Alabama. While there, he was in charge of roughly 32 optional level athletes. Lewis qualified 11 gymnasts to the Junior Olympic National Championships, where those athletes earned eight national medals.
Lewis graduated from Auburn University at Montgomery in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in biology. With that degree, he has done substantial course work in areas focusing on the human body, which has enabled Lewis to apply that knowledge to his athletes’ performance and longevity.
Erik Lewis File
Coaching History:
2021 – Utah State – Associate Head Coach
2019-20 – Utah State – Assistant Coach
Education:
2013 – Auburn University at Montgomery – Biology