PROVO, Utah – Utah State's gymnastics team returns to action when the Aggies compete in the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference Championships on Friday, March 22, at 6 p.m., at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah.
Joining the Aggies (5-10) will be No. 13 Boise State (11-2), No. 15 BYU (10-6), the host institution, and No. 24 Southern Utah (5-5).
The MRGC Championships will be streamed live at https://www.byu.org/livetv. Additionally, live scoring will be available online at www.statbroadcast.com, and fans can follow the Utah State gymnastics social media outlets for meet updates.
Utah State enters the MRGC Championships tied for 41st nationally with a Regional Qualifying Score of 195.035, including a high of 196.075 set on Feb. 22 at the West Virginia quad meet. As a team, the Aggies are 47th in the nation on vault (48.715), 46th on beam (48.950), 43rd on floor (49.000) and tied for 35th on bars (48.880).
Individually, senior Madison Ward-Sessions is tied for 16th nationally on floor (9.920 RQS), tied for 99th on vault (9.290) and ranked 39th in the all-around (39.250). Sophomore Autumn DeHarde is tied for 77th nationally on beam (9.850) and tied for 78th on floor (9.870). Fellow sophomore Leighton Varnadore ranks 49th in the nation in the all-around (39.140).
In its previous three outings at the MRGC Championships, Utah State has placed second (2017), third (2018) and fourth (2016). The Aggies hosted the championships in 2017 and recorded a 196.100, which is the best score they have ever produced in a conference championship meet. Furthermore, it is currently tied for the seventh-best home score in school history and tied for the 10th-best score overall.
At the 2018 MRGC Championships, Utah State placed third with a season-high road score of 195.825 in front of 2,706 fans at the America First Event Center in Cedar City, Utah.
Going into the meet, Utah State 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 advanced to regionals – with a 195.685 RQS.
Ward-Sessions earned first-team all-conference accolades by tying for first on floor (9.900) and beam (9.900), respectively. Ward-Sessions and Mikaela Meyer both earned first-team all-MRGC on vault as they tied for third with matching 9.850s. The final Aggie to earn all-MRGC accolades was Emily Briones, who was a second-team honoree on beam as she placed sixth with a 9.825. At the conclusion of the meet, Autumn DeHarde was tabbed the MRGC Freshman of the Year.
Utah State's 195.825 was made up of a 48.925 on vault, a 48.600 on bars, a 49.125 on beam and a 49.175 on floor.
Ward-Sessions captured one title at No. 2 UCLA last weekend, winning the all-around with a 39.275, bringing her career total to 37 to rank sixth all-time in school history. She is just one title shy of tying for the fifth spot, which is currently held by Julie Ryan (1986-88, 1991). Against the Bruins, Ward-Sessions tied for third on vault with a 9.825, tied for fifth on bars with a 9.825, tied for 10th on beam with a 9.700 and tied for fifth on floor with a 9.925.
Of Ward-Sessions' 37 career titles, 20 have come on floor, which ranks first all-time in school history. Michelle Pohl (1983-86) held the previous school record of 19. Her eight career floor titles as a sophomore in 2017 rank second all-time in single-season school history, the six she has tallied this year is tied for fifth and the five crowns she notched a year ago as a junior is tied for ninth.
On the season, Ward-Sessions has a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 9.920, which leads the MRGC and is tied for 16th nationally. She currently averages 9.903 on the event. Furthermore, the native of Rexburg, Idaho, has recorded a 9.925 or better in five consecutive meets. Her six career 9.925s is a school record.
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.
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