BOISE, Idaho – Utah State gymnastics got out to its best start in a meet this season and senior Madison Ward-Sessions provided a record-breaking individual highlight as the Aggies scored a 195.025 on Friday night against No. 13 Boise State and No. 17 Washington at Taco Bell Arena.
 
Ward-Sessions scored a 9.925 on floor to secure the 19th floor title of her career and tie the school record of 19 floor titles set by Michelle Pohl (1983-86). Ward-Sessions was the only gymnast on the event to score better than a 9.900 and has scored a 9.925 on floor in each of the last three meets of the season.
 
"I've wanted to do that for a while," Ward-Sessions said of tying the school record. "I knew coming into this weekend that I really needed to put up my best. I needed to do my best so I could place, because Boise State and Washington have really good gymnasts on their teams. I was happy about how it turned out."
 
Utah State opened the meet on bars and scored a season-high 49.100 behind matching 9.850s by junior MaKayla Bullitt and Ward-Sessions. They were followed closely by sophomore Annie Beck with a career-best 9.825, sophomore Leighton Varnadore with a 9.800 and freshman Grace Rojas with a 9.775. Although not part of the team score, junior Madi Tueller recorded a career-best 9.700 to round out the Aggies' lineup on the event.
 
Utah State was tied for the lead following the first rotation as Boise State opened with a 49.100 on vault and Washington began with a 48.975 on beam.
 
The Aggies moved to beam for the second rotation and opened with a 9.775 by Varnadore, followed by Rojas, who scored the first of three 9.825s for Utah State on the event. Sophomore Autumn DeHarde was next to record a 9.825 on the event for the Aggies, which proved to be particularly strong after sophomore Taylor Dittmar injured her leg on her dismount the routine before. Ward-Sessions ended the rotation for Utah State with the third 9.825 as the Aggies finished on beam with a 48.350.
 
"We started off really strong on bars," said second-year USU head coach Amy Smith. "We had a season-high score on bars and it was awesome. The beam team started really strong, but unfortunately, we had a mishap on Taylor's dismount. It shook the team and we never quite got it back on track. That happens sometimes, but it's not easy when you see a teammate go down and be in that kind of pain. The team got a little rattled, but we battled through and came out with the second-highest score of the season."
 
It was then Ward-Sessions' routine on floor that provided the top highlight for the Aggies during the third rotation. The mark was one of three routines that scored a 9.800 or higher at the end of Utah State's lineup as DeHarde scored a 9.850 and senior Emily Briones scored a 9.800.
 
USU finished the night on vault and was led by a career-high-tying 9.825 by Leighton Varnadore, followed by a 9.775 by Ward-Sessions. DeHarde finished third for the Aggies with a 9.750 on the event, followed by junior Elle Golison and Rojas with matching 9.625s.
 
"That's fantastic and not shocking in the slightest, because she is phenomenal," Smith said of Ward tying the school record. "The whole crowd tonight gasped when she did her first pass. That's awesome and I'm super proud of her for that."
 
Ward-Sessions ended the meet with a 39.375 in the all-around, tying for second behind Washington's Evanni Roberson with a 39.500.
 
Boise State won the meet with a 197.125 and was followed by Washington with a 196.750. Bronco gymnasts also took individual titles on vault (Sarah Means, 9.925), bars (Courtney McGregor, 9.975), and beam (Alex Esmerian, 9.950).
 
"Leighton had a great night," Smith said. "Madi Tueller stepped up on bars, which was phenomenal. She has been working her butt off in practice and we saw it tonight, so that was really cool to see her get the job done in that second spot because we were moving her around. We had small victories here and there, but unfortunately, we got a little rattled."
 
Utah State will be back in action in the Aggies' home finale on Friday, March 8, hosting Southern Utah at 7 p.m., inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
 
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.
 
Utah State at Boise State Tri Meet – Boise, Idaho – Taco Bell Arena – March 1, 2019
 
Team Results: 1. Boise State 197.125 (VT: 49.100, UB: 49.575, BB: 49.425, FX: 49.025); 2. Washington 196.750 (VT: 49.300, UB: 49.325, BB: 48.975, FX: 49.050); 3. Utah State 195.025 (VT: 49.600, UB: 49.100, BB: 48.350, FX: 48.975).
 
Vault: 1. Sarah Means – BSU, 9.925; t2. Evanni Roberson – UW, 9.900; t2. Geneva Thompson – UW, 9.900; t5. Leighton Varnadore – USU, 9.825; t10. Madison Ward-Sessions – USU, 9.775; t13. Autumn DeHarde – USU, 9.750; t16. Elle Golison – USU, 9.625; t16. Grace Rojas – USU, 9.625.
 
Bars: 1. Courtney McGregor – BSU, 9.975; t2. Alexis Stokes – BSU, 9.925; t2. Emily Muhlenhaupt – BSU, 9.925; t2. Madison Copiak – UW, 9.925; t9. Madison Ward-Sessions – USU, 9.850; t9. MaKayla Bullitt – USU, 9.850; t12. Annie Beck – USU, 9.825; t14. Leighton Varnadore – USU, 9.800; 17. Grace Rojas – USU, 9.775.
 
Beam: 1. Alex Esmerian – BSU, 9.950; 2. Isabella Amado – BSU, 9.925; 3. Gabriella Bouza – BSU, 9.900; t6. Grace Rojas – USU, 9.825; t6. Autumn DeHarde – USU, 9.825; t6. Madison Ward-Sessions – USU, 9.825; t10. Leighton Varnadore – USU, 9.775; 17. Emily Briones – USU, 9.100.
 
Floor: 1. Madison Ward-Sessions – USU, 9.925; 2. Kristyn Hoffa – UW, 9.875; t3. Autumn DeHarde – USU, 9.850; t3. Courtney McGregor – BSU, 9.850; t3. Isabella Amado – BSU, 9.850; t7. Emily Briones – USU, 9.800; t11. Leighton Varnadore – USU, 9.775; 17. MaKayla Bullitt – USU, 9.625.
 
All-Around: 1. Evanni Roberson – UW, 39.500; t2. Madison Ward-Sessions – USU, 39.375; t2. Courtney McGregor – BSU, 39.375; 4. Leighton Varnadore – USU, 39.175.