March 22, 2002

Final Stats

LOGAN, Utah - Denver claimed the team title in the inaugural Western Gymnastics Conference Championships, while host Utah State finished third here on Friday night.

The Pioneers posted a 195.825 score to defeat runner-up Southern Utah (195.575), Utah State (195.550), Boise State (194.900) and Cal State Fullerton (193.250) in the five-team meet.

Jamie Johns of Boise State won the all-around title with a 39.425 total. The senior finished second on the beam, third on the bars, fifth in the vault and 15th on the floor to win her championship.

Ashley Schible of Denver was second in the all-around at 39.325 with USU's Jessenia Abrego (39.250) and Nicole Kilpatrick (39.000) finishing third and fourth respectively.

Utah State scored a season high 195.550 after entering the championships with a 192.917 average. The Aggies' previous season-high was a 195.425 in a home meet against Arizona State and Southern Utah on March 8. USU posted season-best totals in the bars and beam en route to its score Friday.

"I told you it was going to be a barn-burner," said USU head coach Ray Corn. "It was certainly a great performance tonight by Utah State. We counted no falls for the team score and I am very pleased about that. We have now gone through four straight meets with having to count only one fall and that is what it is all about."

Utah State scored a 49.025 on the bars for its sixth best score in school history. The Aggies were led on the event by Katie Rutherford, who scored a career-high 9.925. Rutherford shared the individual league crown with Kelly Mathiasen of Cal State Fullerton. USU also had a career high tying 9.825 from Nicole Kilpatrick in the event.

Kirra Seeley scored a 9.85 on the beam to lead USU to its season-best score of 48.750 in that event. The Aggies also scored a 48.900 on the floor, just .05 off its season-best mark. Jessenia Abrego posted a 9.925 on the floor for the fourth best score in Utah State history.

On the vault, Nicole Kilpatrick posted a 9.925 score for the second-best mark in school history. Her score earned her the individual league championship in that event.

Denver's Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart was named the league's first coach of the year, while Boise State's Jamie Johns earned the league's athlete of the year award.

"We didn't really start off the way the team knows how to start off and we have never had that kind of problem on beam before," said DU coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart. "We had ourselves in a little hole after the first event. I think it was a good experience and after thinking about it, we haven't started on the beam this year. It was a good learning experience for them to come out like that in a big meet like this. It took a lot of focus and concentration, but we basically had to dig ourselves out of the hole the whole meet."

NCAA Regionals are scheduled for April 5 with the NCAA Championships slated for April 18-20.

TEAM SCORES 1. Denver, 195.825 2. Southern Utah, 195.575 3. Utah State, 195.550 4. Boise State, 194.900 5. Cal State Fullerton, 193.250

Denver Vault - 49.150 Bars - 49.150 Beam - 48.175 Floor - 49.350

Southern Utah Vault - 48.275 Bars - 48.800 Beam - 48.975 Floor - 49.525

Utah State Vault - 48.825 Bars - 49.025 Beam - 48.750 Floor - 48.900

Boise State Vault - 48.475 Bars - 48.700 Beam - 48.525 Floor - 49.200

Cal State Fullerton Vault - 47.775 Bars - 49.150 Beam - 48.150 Floor - 48.175

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

All-Around - 1. Jamie Johns, Boise State, 39.425, 2. Ashley Schible, Denver, 39.325, 3. Jessenia Abrego, Utah State, 39.250, 4. Nicole Kilpatrick, Utah State, 3.000, 5. Talayna Fortunato, Southern Utah, 38.900.

Vault - 1. Nicole Kilpatrick, Utah State, 9.925, 2. Karyssa Ancellotti, Denver, 9.875, 3. Jessenia Abrego, Utah State, 9.850, 3. Ashley Schible, Denver, 9.850, 5. Jamie Johns, Boise State, 9.825, 5. Jessica Kennedy, Denver, 9.825.

Bars - 1. Katie Rutherford, Utah State, 9.925, 1. Kelly Mathiasen, Cal State Fullerton, 9.925, 3. Breanne Holmes, Boise State, 9.900, 3. Jamie Johns, Boise State, 9.900, 3. Jacquelin Young, Denver, 9.900

Beam - 1. Heidi White, Boise State, 9.925, 2. Jamie Johns, Boise State, 9.875, 3. Kelly Mathiasen, Cal State Fullerton, 9.850, 3. Carly Geronimo, Southern Utah, 9.850, 5. Kirra Seeley, Utah State, 9.825, 5. Breanne Holmes, Boise State, 9.825, 5. Kristin Parker, Cal State Fullerton, 9.825, 5. Michelle Kasuga, Denver, 9.825.

Floor - 1. Sandi Crosby, Southern Utah, 9.950, 2. Jessenia Abrego, Utah State, 9.925, 2. Emily Bankhead, Denver, 9.925, 2. Molly Bauer, Southern Utah, 9.925, 2. Sarah Geisler, Southern Utah, 9.925.