Final Stats

CEDAR CITY, Utah – Utah State gymnastics recorded its best score of the year with a season-high 194.975 on the road Friday night, as senior Madison Ward-Session captured a pair of individual titles to bring her career total to 30. The Aggies ultimately lost the meet to the Thunderbirds inside the America First Event Center as the hosts scored a season-high 195.500.
 
"At the end of the day, we battled through and came out with another season-high score," said second-year USU head coach Amy Smith. "The resilience of the team was great to see tonight because it was not an easy meet. We just kept fighting to the very end. I'm really proud of the team."
 
Utah State opened the meet with a lead after finishing with a season-high-tying 48.850 on bars. Junior MaKayla Bullitt led the Aggies on the event with a 9.850 en route to a second-place finish, followed closely by freshman Grace Rojas with a career-high 9.825. Sophomore Leighton Varnadore opened the rotation for the Aggies with a 9.700, while Ward-Sessions competed fifth and scored a 9.750.
 
Utah State suffered a fall during the second routine, putting pressure on Maya Perez-Lugones' final routine and the freshman delivered with a career-high 9.725 as she finished her routine before collapsing on the mat due to an apparent leg injury
 
"We started on bars and made some last-minutes lineup changes," Smith said. "We had some issues with an injury at the end of the lineup, but the team was incredibly resilient and adaptable, which is something that we've been talking about all year with them handling those kinds of quick changes and being able to do their job."
 
Southern Utah opened the meet on vault and scored a 9.725 or higher on all of its vaults, finishing with a 48.800. The Thunderbirds were able to take the lead following the second rotation, scoring a 49.000 on bars behind an individual title by Becky Rozsa, scoring a 9.875.
 
Ward-Sessions anchored the vault lineup for the Aggies and scored a 9.800 to capture the first of two individual titles for the senior during the meet. The finish marked her first vault title of the season, fifth vault title of her career and 29th individual title as an Aggie. She was followed by Leighton Varnadore with a 9.775, Logan Varnadore with a 9.725 and Rojas with a 9.700. Junior Elle Golison and sophomore Autumn DeHarde scored matching 9.650s to round out the Aggies' 48.650 on the event.
 
Leighton Varnadore opened Utah State's floor lineup with a bang, scoring a career-high 9.825 on the event. Sophomore Faith Leary continued the momentum when she competed third in the lineup, finishing with a season-high 9.750. DeHarde and Golison bookended a Ward-Sessions' routine with a 9.650 and 9.725, respectively, as Ward-Sessions recorded the second-highest mark for the Aggies on the event with a 9.800.
 
Utah State finished the third rotation with a 48.675 as the Thunderbirds extended their lead with a meet-high 49.125 on beam, behind a meet-high 9.900 by Skylen Murakami. At the end of the rotation, Southern Utah led 146.925-146.175.
 
USU closed in on the Thunderbirds during the final rotation as the Aggies scored a season-high 48.725 on beam behind a career-high 9.825 by Ward-Sessions. She was matched by DeHarde with a 9.825, and the pair was followed by a 9.700 by sophomore Taylor Dittmar and a season-high 9.700 by senior Emily Briones. Rojas, competing in her first official beam routine of the season, rounded out the Aggies' team score with a 9.675.
 
"Madi put together another solid all-around performance," Smith said. "It was great seeing her edge out her previous personal best with a 9.825 on beam and anchor our beam lineup. It's been really great seeing her deliver in the all-around for us this season."
 
Southern Utah finished the meet with a 48.575 on floor, including a pair of one-tenth deductions for stepping off of the floor, but the mishaps were not enough for the Aggies to catch the Thunderbirds in the 195.500-194.975 finish.
 
Ward-Sessions wrapped up her night by sharing the individual all-around title with Southern Utah's Karley McClain, marking the 30th individual title of her career.
 
"Something we can take away from this meet is we can still battle through some adversity. Maya getting hurt on the first rotation kind of shook us up a little bit," Ward-Sessions said. "But, we were able to go and hit vault and finish all the other events. I was proud of the team for not letting anything really shake us."
 
Utah State will be back in action next week in its fourth consecutive MRGC dual meet, hosting league-leading Boise State inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Friday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m.
 
Utah State at Southern Utah - Cedar City, Utah - America First Event Center - Feb. 1, 2019
 
Team Results: 1. Southern Utah - 195.500 (vault: 48.800, bars: 49.000, beam: 49.125, floor: 48.575); 2. Utah State - 194.975 (vault: 48.650, bars: 48.850, beam: 48.725, floor: 48.750)
 
Vault: 1. Madison Ward-Sessions - USU, 9.800; T2. Leighton Varnadore - USU, 9.775; T2. Morgan Alfaro - SUU, 9.775; T2. Stephanie Tervort - SUU, 9.775; Molly Jozwiakowski - SUU, 9.775; T7. Logan Varandore - USU, 9.725; 10. Grace Rojas - USU, 9.700; T11. Elle Golison - USU, 9.650; T11. Autumn DeHarde - USU, 9.650.
 
Bars: 1. Becky Rozsa - SUU, 9.875; T2. MaKayla Bullitt - USU, 9.850; T2. Shylen Murakami - SUU, 9.850; T4. Grace Rojas - USU, 9.825; T4. Stephanie Tervort - SUU, 9.825; 6. Madison Ward-Sessions - USU, 9.750; T7. Maya Perez-Lugones - USU, 9.725; T7. Karley McClain - SUU, 9.725; T7 - Karen Gonzalez - SUU, 9.725; 11. Leighton Varnadore - USU , 9.700.
 
Beam: 1. Shylen Murakami - SUU, 9.900; T4. Autumn DeHarde - USU, 9.825; T4. Madison Ward-Sessions - USU, 9.825; T7. Emily Briones - USU, 9.700; T7. Taylor Dittmar - USU, 9.700; 10. Grace Rojas - USU, 9.675.
 
Floor: 1. Karley McClain - SUU, 9.875; 2. Leighton Varnadore - USU, 9.825; 3. Madison Ward-Sessions - USU, 9.800; T4. Faith Leary - USU, 9.750; T4. Karen Gonzalez - SUU, 9.750; T6. Elle Golison - USU, 9.725; T6. Madison McBride - SUU, 9.725; T6. Jiang Braley - SUU, 9.725; 7. Autumn DeHarde - USU, 9.650.
 
All-Around: T1. Madison Ward-Sessions - USU, 39.175; T1. Carly McClain - SUU, 39.175; 3. Leighton Varnadore - USU, 38.900.