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LOGAN, Utah – Utah State's gymnastics team held an intrasquad meet Friday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, giving Aggie fans a glimpse of what they can expect from the 2019 squad.
 
Beginning the night on bars and rotating through, the gymnasts competed full routines in front of judges. Following the event, which Utah State scored a 193.075, the Aggies signed autographs for fans who were in attendance.
 
"This was a really good starting point for us," said second-year USU head coach Amy Smith. "The main thing for us was the team needed to bring energy. This team works at its best when that energy is high, and they brought it tonight. Even though there were little mishaps here and there, they didn't let that suck the wind out of their sails, and they just kept pushing and kept the energy up."
 
Leighton Varnadore stole the show as the sophomore was the lone Aggie to compete in the all-around, highlighted by a stellar 9.850 on floor. She also had a 9.700 on vault, 9.750 on bars, 9.750 on beam for an all-around score of 39.050.
 
"Leighton Varnadore coming into the all-around is huge for us," Smith said. "She went home this summer and worked her butt off to get a vault, and it showed tonight. She went 9.7 on vault, so I'm really excited for her. She's going to be a great force in the MRGC in the all-around, and she's done the work. I am thrilled to see what Leighton is going to do this year."
 
Because Utah State will begin on bars in its season-opening quad meet at Pittsburgh on Jan. 12, that's the event the Aggies started on in its intrasquad. Senior Madison Ward-Sessions led the way with a 9.850, followed by a 9.775 from junior MaKayla Bullitt. As a team, USU scored a 48.825 on the event.
 
In the second rotation, Utah State was on beam, where sophomore Taylor Dittmar scored a team-best 9.825, while fellow sophomore Autumn DeHarde had a 9.800. As a team, the Aggies finished with a 48.375 on the night.
 
Utah State's best event of the night was on floor, where the Aggies scored a 49.000.
 
"Competing in front of fans again, for me, was a lot of fun," Varnadore said. "I am ready for the season to start now. I think it's the best part of the year.
 
Varnadore was the top Aggie on floor with her 9.850, but three other gymnasts had 9.800s in DeHarde, Ward-Sessions and freshman Maddie Straker. Utah State closed out the meet on vault, where only five gymnasts competed on the event. Varnadore and Ward-Sessions tied for first with 9.700s.
 
"My goal was to be in the all-around, and the only event that I wasn't in last year was vault," Varnadore said. "I trained vault every single day, really just trying to figure out what I could do to get in the lineup, and I think it paid off. Team-wise, once we get a couple of more girls competing vault, then we'll be right where we want to be. I feel like this was a really good starting point for early December, though."
 
The Aggies will officially open the 2019 season on Saturday, Jan. 12, at Pittsburgh. USU's home opener is slated for the following weekend against in-state rival BYU on Friday, Jan. 18, at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. All home meets begin at 7 p.m.
 
Fans can follow the Aggie gymnastics program at twitter.com/USUGymnastics, on Facebook at Utah State Gymnastics, and on Instagram at USUGymnastics. Fans can also follow the USU athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at UtahStateAthletics.