LOGAN, Utah – After narrowly missing out on qualifying for the NCAA Regional Championships last season, Utah State's gymnastics program has its sight set on returning to the postseason in 2019.
 
"Our expectations this year are to be a top-25 team and be at the regional championships," said second-year USU head coach Amy Smith. "In order to do that, we need to bring energy to every meet. We need to have an attack mentality and not wait to see how things are going to go. Each gymnast knows what their job is and everyone needs to bring their best when their best is needed. If we do all of that, we will be successful."
 
Utah State officially opens the 2019 season on Saturday, Jan. 12, at a quad meet hosted by Pittsburgh. Joining the Aggies and Panthers at Fitzgerald Field House will be West Virginia and Eastern Michigan. The meet is slated to begin at noon (MT) and will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra, which is available through the WatchESPN app.
 
"We are excited that the season is here," Smith said. "The team has done a lot of work over the preseason on holding a higher standard of excellence and we feel we are in a really good place heading into this first meet. I expect to see a huge turn around on bars this season."
 
A year ago, the Aggies struggled on bars, averaging a Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference-low 48.735 during the season. Throughout the season, Utah State dealt with a plethora of injuries on the bars squad. In 2019, however, Smith expects even greater things under new bars coach Erik Lewis.
 
"Erik has done a phenomenal job preparing the bars team and we are going to see a huge jump in the rankings on that event," Smith said. "Overall, I expect us to come out and compete at a high level with a ton of energy and high-quality gymnastics. Like I said earlier, we also expect to be at the regional championships and challenge for the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference championship. I also want someone on this team to score the first perfect 10 in Aggie history. We have several gymnasts this year capable of doing so."
 
In Smith's first year at the helm, the Aggies went 9-11 overall and 2-4 in Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference action. Utah State concluded the 2018 season by placing third at the MRGC Championships with a season-high road score of 195.825. Heading into the meet, USU was one of two teams, along with Iowa, vying for the final NCAA Regional Championships spot.
The Hawkeyes earned it with a 196.400 at the Big Ten Championships, which bumped their Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) to 195.775. The Aggies ended the season ranked 37th – the top 36 teams advance to regionals – with a 195.685 RQS.
 
However, five members from last year's team qualified individually for the NCAA Regional Championships, which were held April 7 in Minneapolis, Minn. Those five – Madison Ward-Sessions, Emily Briones, Brittany Jeppesen, Autumn DeHarde and Mikaela Meyer – went
a perfect 7-for-7 on their routines.

Ward-Sessions was the Aggies' top finisher at regionals as the native of Rexburg, Idaho, was the final competitor of the meet and absolutely stole the show on floor, recording a career-high-tying 9.925 to tie for fifth on the event. Her 9.925 on floor ranks first all-time in school history for an NCAA Regional Championships meet. She also tied for 21st on vault with a 9.800, which is tied for eighth all-time in school history at a regional meet.

In her only event of the day, Jeppesen tied for 12th on bars with a 9.850, which is tied for third all-time in school history at a regional meet. Like Ward-Sessions, DeHarde also competed on two events, tying for 15th on beam with a 9.775 and tying for 32nd on floor with a 9.775. Meyer tied for 29th on vault with a 9.775 and Briones tied for 19th on beam with a 9.725.


MEET THE 2019 AGGIES
 
Utah State returns 12 letterwinners, including two seniors, three juniors and seven sophomores. Additionally, the Aggies welcome seven newcomers – six freshmen and one junior – to the 2019 squad.
 
DYNAMIC DUO
 
The senior class is comprised of Ward-Sessions and Briones, who are both coming off of fantastic junior campaigns.
 
Ward-Sessions (all-around) is currently tied for 12th all-time in USU history with 22 individual titles and tied for fourth in program history with 14 career floor titles. She captured five floor titles as a junior, which ranks second all-time in class history, and 10 total titles overall, which ranks fifth all-time in class history.
 
At the 2018 MRGC Championships, Ward-Sessions earned a pair of first-team all-league accolades after tying for first on floor with a 9.900 and tying for third on vault with a 9.850. She ranked fourth in the MRGC, tied for eighth in the North Central Region and tied for 50th nationally with a floor Regional Qualifying Score of 9.890. On vault, she tied for fifth in the conference, tied for 14th regionally and tied for 85th nationally with a 9.840 RQS.
 
"Madi is such a lead-by-example teammate," Smith said. "She is never cutting corners and just busting her butt in and out of the gym. I am so excited to see her compete in the all-around more frequently this year, which is super exciting. Beam has been a challenge for her, but she has been working diligently on that event and is ready to go.
"We have made some changes in her tumbling, so we should see an increase in her scoring potential on floor. And, as always, she is such a dynamic athlete and always a crowd favorite wherever we are competing."
 
Briones (beam, floor) returned to competition on Jan. 13, 2018, at Bowling Green, after missing nearly a year while recovering from a season-ending foot injury. She competed on beam against the Falcons, recording a 9.825 to place third.
 
"Emily Briones is an absolute joy," Smith said. "Nobody enjoys gymnastics and competing more than Em."
 
Briones garnered second-team all-MRGC accolades on beam after placing sixth with a 9.825 at the league championships. Her beam average of 9.800 in 2018 ranks fourth all-time in school history. She ranked seventh in the MRGC and 15th in the North Central Region with a beam Regional Qualifying Score of 9.845, capturing one of her two beam titles on the season at the UC Davis tri meet (2/9) with a career-high 9.925, which is tied for the fifth-best score in school history on the event.
 
"She is such a rock for us on beam and her tumbling on floor is much improved and so much more controlled since last year," Smith said. "Emily is the energy of this team."
 
FANTASTIC FOUR

Perhaps the most improved gymnast on the team MaKayla Bullitt (all-around) – one of four juniors on the team – who tied for 21st on vault (9.675) and tied for 13th on bars (9.775) at the MRGC Championships. She recorded career-high scores of 9.800 on bars twice during the season, including at Boise State and at home against Southern Utah.
 
"MaKayla is a different person this year," Smith said. "The light went on for her and she came in this year and started training at a different level and it was so fun to watch. The work she has put in on bars is incredible and I expect to see big things from her on that event. Her confidence in the gym is phenomenal now and she is such a team player."
 
One of the seven newcomers on the team is Madi Tueller (vault, bars, floor), who originally signed with Southeast Missouri. But due to a back injury during the fall of 2015, Tueller returned home. Smith and the Aggies are certainly glad to have her in their corner.
 
"Madi is an anomaly," Smith said. "I had recruited Madi when I was at North Carolina, so I was familiar with her gymnastics and when I got the job here, she reached out. Unfortunately, the timing wasn't right last year, so she joined the team this summer and worked her butt off to get her gymnastics back after a three-year hiatus from the sport. Her work ethic and determination is impeccable."
 
Elle Golison (vault, beam floor) is coming off an injury during the preseason and continues to work her way back from that. As a sophomore in 2018, she tied for seventh on beam (9.800), and tied for 16th on both vault (9.750) and floor (9.800) at the MRGC Championships.
Another junior that suffered an injury during the preseason was bars specialist Brittany Jeppesen, who will not compete in 2019 as she recovers. In 2018, though, Jeppesen tied for 12th on bars with a season-high-tying score of 9.850 at the NCAA Regional Championships. The 9.850 on the event is tied for third all-time in school history at a regional meet. She also tied for 13th on bars with a 9.775 at the MRGC Championships.
 
"Brittany was setting herself up to have her best season yet, making changes to her training and sharpening her mental game, but unfortunately, the injury she suffered when we got back from the holiday break will keep her out this season," Smith said.
 
SUPER SOPHS
 
Seven gymnasts – the same amount as last season – comprise the 2019 sophomore class, and they include Annie Beck (bars, beam), DeHarde (vault, beam, floor), Taylor Dittmar (beam, floor), Faith Leary (vault, floor), Meyer (vault, bars, floor), Leighton Varnadore (all-around) and Logan Varnadore (bars).
 
DeHarde had a freshman season to remember as she set the single-season beam average record with a 9.827, which ranked second in the MRGC, tied for sixth in the North Central Region and tied for 52nd in the nation. She also averaged 9.829 on floor, which ranks 11th all-time in school history.
 
Furthermore, DeHarde was tabbed the MRGC Freshman of the Year as she captured seven individual titles, which is tied for the 12th-most by a freshman in school history.
 
"She cleaned up her floor quite a bit during the preseason and has a great new floor routine, which should allow her to put up even bigger scores for us on that event," Smith said. "She also has worked on making her vault more dynamic and has been successful in doing so. Autumn's beam really is one of the best in the country and she is one of the athletes completely capable of scoring a 10.0 on the event."
 
Leighton Varnadore's beam average of 9.721 in 2018 ranks 14th all-time in single-season school history. She tied for 18th on both bars (9.750) and floor (9.775), and tied for seventh on beam (9.800), at the MRGC Championships. She and Ward-Sessions were the only two Aggies to compete in the all-around last season.
 
"Leighton is ready to go," Smith said. "Leighton is our calm, confident lead-off gymnast on three events. She will be stepping into the all-around this year and has the potential to be one of the top all-arounders in the country. She went home this summer and trained a new vault and is going to be our vault anchor this year. She has worked meticulously in the preseason putting tenths back in her routines and she is much improved in every event. I am so excited to watch her compete this year and see what she is going to accomplish."
 
Leighton's twin sister, Logan, competed on bars in three meets last season, recording a career-high 9.800 in a home meet against San José State and Sacramento State.
 
"Logan is another athlete that has made a complete turn-around," Smith said. "She has completely come out of her shell and is finding her voice, and it is crossing over to her gymnastics. Her confidence is getting better and better every day and she is working intensely on getting back in the lineups on vault and bars. Like her sister, she has a new vault to debut, so I am excited to watch Logan this season."
 
Beck (bars, beam) placed 23rd on bars with a personal-best 9.575 at the MRGC Championships. She also performed on beam during her first season at Utah State, recording a career-high 9.825 on the event at Denver.
 
"This summer, Annie worked really hard on getting stronger and she was able to do so," Smith said. "She came back and her gymnastics was so much easier for her and really gave her the confidence-boost she needed. She has made huge strides on both bars and beam. We are so excited to watch her have a successful season and be incredibly impactful on the team this year."
 
Dittmar (beam) qualified as an alternate on beam for the NCAA Regional Championships with a personal-best score of 9.875 and Regional Qualifying Score of 9.830 on the event. She competed as a beam specialist in all 12 meets and averaged 9.729 to rank 13th all-time in school history. Dittmar tied for seventh on beam with a 9.800 at the MRGC Championships.
 
"Taylor is our phenomenal beam specialist," Smith said. "Like Autumn, she has the capability to be perfect on the event. She has a very difficult and unique mount, and just moves so confidently and fluidly on the beam. We also added a new dismount to her set, which should raise her scoring potential immensely, so we are excited to see Taylor compete this year and contribute to the success of the beam lineup."
 
Leary (vault, floor) qualified as an alternate on both vault and floor for the NCAA Regional Championships with personal-best scores of 9.900 on each event. She tied for 16th on vault (9.750) and tied for 10th on floor (9.850) at the MRGC Championships. Her career-best 9.900 on vault against BYU in 2018 is tied for the seventh-best score in school history on the event.
 
"Faith didn't train through preseason and just started training consistently after the holiday break," Smith said. "We are hoping to have her in the floor lineup throughout the season and slowly bring her back on vault."
 
Meyer (vault, bars, floor) garnered first-team all-MRGC honors on vault after tying for third with a 9.850 at the league championships, where she also competed on bars. She was named the MRGC Vault Specialist of the Week after recording a 9.825 to tie for fourth at the Elevate The Stage meet.
 
"Mikaela is one of those athletes that can't seem to catch a break this year," Smith said. "Unfortunately, her preseason was riddled with annoying little setback after annoying little setback. But, Mik is the type of athlete that does everything she can to put herself in the best position possible to return seamlessly once given the go-ahead, and we are hoping to get her back on vault by February."
 
SUPER SIX
 
The remaining six gymnasts to round out the 2019 roster are all freshmen, including a pair of Canadians in Grace Rojas (vault, bars, beam) and Maddie Straker (all-around), who suffered a season-ending injury just before the holiday break.
 
"Grace is a beautiful and dynamic gymnast," Smith said. "She will be a constant in the bars and vault lineups, and could step into a spot on beam, as well."
 
Rounding out the freshman class is Carley Bayles (bars, beam, floor), Caitlin Gray (all-around) and Maya Perez-Lugones (bars, beam), whose twin sister competes at Georgia, and Glory Yoakum (all-around).