Meet Notes (PDF)
AGGIES AND AGGIES, OH MY
Coming off its second-best score in school history, Utah State's gymnastics team returns home this weekend for a dual meet against the UC Davis Aggies on Friday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m., at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. These same two teams met last Friday at the Boise State quad meet at ExtraMile Arena in Boise, Idaho. Utah State (5-6-1, 2-4-1 Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference) notched a season-high 196.800 to tie the Broncos for first place, while UCD (9-7) captured third place with a 195.850.
FOLLOW ALONG
Utah State's dual meet against UC Davis will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network as a USU Athletics Production. Additionally, live stats will be available online at utahstateaggies.com and meet updates will be provided through the team's social media outlets.
MEET PROMOTIONS
Friday's dual meet is "Super Hero Day" featuring discounted admission for all police, fire, EMT, ski patrol, active duty and retired military. In order to receive the discounted admission, fans must call the ticket office at at 1-888-USTATE-1 or 1-435-797-0305 during regular hours of operation. The first 500 kids through the doors will receive a free Aggie Super Hero cape and the kids zone will feature a face painter, coloring station and the opportunity to write "Thank You" letters to veterans and active duty military for Operation Gratitude. Additionally, USU Aggiethon will have a few special spectators from Primary Children's Hospital in attendance. They will have the opportunity to march in with the Aggies.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Of Utah State's 168 routines this season, 66 have been performed by freshmen, which accounts for 39.3 percent. Furthermore, if you factor in the 22 combined routines from sophomores
Carley Bayles and
Grace Rojas, 52.4 percent of the Aggies' routines have come from underclassmen. Freshman
Sofi Sullivan has contributed 263.575 total points through the first seven meets of the season, which ranks second only to junior
Leighton Varnadore and her 273.225 points.
BEAM QUEENS
Utah State is tied for 22nd nationally on beam with a national qualifying score of 49.010. The Aggies recorded a school-record 49.575 at the Boise State quad meet last weekend. Junior
Autumn DeHarde and
Sofi Sullivan led the way with matching 9.950s to tie for first on the event. DeHarde ranks first in the conference and is tied for 16th nationally with an NQS of 9.895, while Sullivan ranks second in the MRGC and is tied for 29th nationally with an NQS of 9.875.
AMONG THE ELITE
Utah State's school-record 49.575 on beam is tied for the fifth-highest score on the event this season, along with No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 6 LSU. No. 3 Utah has the highest score on beam this season with a 49.775, followed by No. 4 Minnesota's 49.700, No. 1 Florida's 49.675 and No. 5 Denver's 49.650.
SCOUTING THE OTHER AGGIES
• UC Davis is currently ranked No. 43 in the nation with a national qualifying score (NQS) of 194.305. The Aggies are averaging 193.303 on the season. UCD had a season-high score of 195.850 last weekend at the Boise State quad meet, placing third behind Utah State and BSU, which tied for first with matching 196.800s.
• Alyssa Ito leads UC Davis on beam as she is tied for 75th nationally with an NQS of 9.825 and season average of 9.641, including a high of 9.925.
• The USU Aggies are 5-2 all-time against the UCD Aggies, including 2-0 at home, 1-1 on the road and 2-1 at a neutral site.
CAREER HIGHS
In last Friday's quad meet at Boise State, nine Utah State gymnasts either tied or set career-high marks a total of 12 times. Junior
Leighton Varnadore won the all-around with a career-best 39.350. She also tied for first on vault with a career-high 9.875, tied for first on floor with a career-best 9.900 and tied for fifth on beam with a career-high-tying 9.875. Junior
Autumn DeHarde tied for first on beam with a personal-best 9.950, while fellow junior
Mikaela Meyer tied for first on vault with a career-high-tying 9.875. On beam, junior
Taylor Dittmar tied for third with a personal-best 9.925 and sophomore
Carley Bayles tied Varnadore for fifth with a career-high 9.875. Sophomore
Grace Rojas had a career-best 9.825 on vault to tie for sixth and freshman
Rebecca Wells tied for ninth with a personal-best-tying 9.800. On floor, freshman
Ariel Toomey tied for eighth with a career-high 9.850. In the all-around, freshman
Sofi Sullivanplaced second with a personal-best-tying 39.325.
MRGC HONORS FOUR AGGIES
Four Utah State gymnasts garnered Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference (MRGC) weekly awards for their efforts in a quad meet at Boise State last Friday night at ExtraMile Arena in Boise, Idaho.
USU juniors
Mikaela Meyer and Leighton
Varnadore were named MRGC Co-Vault Specialists of the Week, while junior
Autumn DeHarde and freshman
Sofi Sullivan shared Co-Beam Specialist of the Week accolades.
Additionally, Varnadore was tabbed the America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week after helping the Aggies notch a season-high 196.800, which ranks second all-time in school history, to tie Boise State for first place at the quad meet. With their sponsorship of the Student-Athlete of the Week, America First Credit Union donates funds directly to support student-athlete scholarships.
Varnadore won the all-around for the Aggies with a career-high 39.350. The native of Aiken, S.C., also tied for first on vault with a career-best 9.875, tied for first on floor with a personal-best-tying 9.875, tied for fifth on beam with a 9.875 and tied for 15th on bars with a 9.700.
Meyer tied Varnadore on vault with a career-high-tying 9.875, helping USU record a season-high 49.175 on the event, which is tied for fourth all-time in school history.
On beam, DeHarde and Sullivan tied for first with identical 9.950s. For DeHarde, it was her 11th such title on the event, which tied the school record first set by
Christy Denson (1997-2000).
UP NEXT
Utah State will close out the home portion of its schedule when the Aggies welcome in-state rival BYU to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Friday, March 6, at 7 p.m., for an MRGC dual meet.
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