Final Results

LOGAN, Utah – No. 21 Utah State finished third at the 2021 MRGC Championships on Saturday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
 
No. 12 BYU earned the crown with a team score of 196.925, following by a 196.725 from No. 19 Boise State. The Aggies took third with a 196.250 – their best score ever for a conference championship meet – and No. 20 Southern Utah finished fourth with a 196.225.
 
"It definitely didn't turn out how we wanted it to, but it was a good warmup for the NCAA regionals," said graduate Leighton Varnadore, who won the all-around with a 39.075. "It wasn't the outcome we wanted, but it puts us that much closer to regionals. There were a lot of ups and downs on each event, but we worked through it really well on vault and floor, then bars got away from us a little bit, and then beam a little bit more. We just need stay focused and focus on the details in practice."
 
The 196.250 recorded by the Aggies ranks as the seventh-best home score in school history.
 
Following the conclusion of the meet, the MRGC yearly awards were announced, as well. Senior Mikaela Meyer earned first-team all-league honors on vault, while Varnadore garnered second-team accolades on the event and a first-team citation in the all-around. For the second-consecutive year, senior Autumn DeHarde was named the MRGC Beam Specialist of the Year, as well as earning first-team accolades on the apparatus.
 
"We work hard for it, and we put in the effort in the gym, so to see it all pay off is cool," DeHarde said of the accolades the Aggies received.
 
Utah State (3-12) started strong out of the gate with a 49.225 on floor, its second-highest score of the year on the event. BYU (11-6) was in second with a 49.125 on vault, Boise State (11-3) in third with a 49.150 on bars and Southern Utah (5-11) in fourth with a 49.025 on beam.
 
"We started out really strong on floor with one of our best floor rotations of the season," said fourth-year Utah State head coach Amy Smith. "We have really been hammering that home, so it was great to see that show up tonight."
 
DeHarde tied for fourth on floor with a 9.875 and sophomore Ariel Toomey matched her personal best on the event with a 9.850 to tie for eighth, along with sophomore Rebecca Wells and freshman Eve Jackson.
 
"We started off pretty strong on floor, which kind of carried into vault," DeHarde said. "We had little mishaps here and there, and it wasn't our best night, but overall, we kept fighting through every routine and every event. We ended up doing what we needed to do. What we did tonight wasn't our best, so we have a lot more to put out there on the floor. Regionals is going to be really exciting."
 
In the second rotation, the Aggies put up a 49.025 on vault, marking the fifth-straight meet Utah State has scored a 49 or better on the apparatus. BYU made a huge jump into first place with a 49.325 on bars, giving the Cougars a team score of 98.450 at the midway point of the meet. Utah State (98.250) dropped into second, while Southern Utah (98.175) moved into third after a 49.250 on floor and Boise State (98.100) slid to fourth after recording a 48.950 on beam.
 
Leading the way for the Aggies on vault was Varnadore, who tied for seventh with a 9.825. Wells, junior Grace Rojas, senior Logan Varnadore and senior Mikaela Meyer each had a 9.800 to tie for 10th.
 
Like Leighton Varnadore mentioned, the Aggies had a rocky third rotation on bars, recording a 48.900 to give them a team score of 147.150, which dropped Utah State into third place. BYU (147.500) remained in first after adding a 49.050 on beam, while Boise State (147.400) jumped to second with a 49.300 on floor and SUU (147.125) fell into fourth with a 48.950 on vault.
 
"We were just going for our landings a little too much on vault," Smith pointed out. "We got a little rattled on bars with some scores, and that carried over into beam. Battling back on beam was great, though. The meet wasn't perfect, and it wasn't what we planned for, but I am so proud of the team for not backing down. They fought to the bitter end and didn't give up, and that's what we're trying to build here."
 
Rojas led the Aggies on bars as she matched her career best with a 9.850  to tie for fifth.
 
Closing the meet out on beam, Utah State had a 49.100, which marked the ninth straight time it has scored 49 or better on the event, which is a school record. BYU closed with a stellar 49.425 on floor, Boise State shined on vault with a 49.325 and Southern Utah had a solid 49.100 on bars.
 
"We have great memories here in the Spectrum," DeHarde said. "It felt great to compete here one more time."
 
Added Leighton Varnadore: "I really can't believe it. I still don't believe that it's over, competing in the Spectrum. Once regionals is done it might sink in."
 
DeHarde tied for second on beam with a 9.875, while Wells, Leighton Varnadore and Dittmar tied for fourth with matching 9.850s. Junior Carley Bayles closed the meet for the Aggies with a 9.675 beam score, which helped them keep their streak of 49 or better alive.
 
"Carley missed a connection, but she thought on the fly to add a front aerial split jump in the back end to get a 10.0 start value, then nailed the dismount," Smith pointed out. "That kept us alive in that 49 range. Kudos to her for thinking on her feet and being mentally tough enough to do that, because that is not easy to do. Floor was the highlight of the night. We started the meet off really strong and we're learning to compete at a high level. It takes all the pieces coming together."
 
Smith also made it a point to highlight Jessica Gutierrez's floor and bars routine. In the sixth spot on floor, the sophomore had a 9.800 to tie for 18th, while she tied for 20th on bars with a 9.750.
 
"Jessy Gutierrez is figuring out collegiate gymnastics," Smith said. "To see her fight through and see her last pass on floor was awesome. To see her fight through that bar dismount and not buckle and stick it, that was a huge jump for her. I was so proud of her for that."
 
The NCAA will announce regional qualifiers and locations on Monday, March 22.
 
"I am so excited going forward into regionals, because we still haven't hit our stride," Smith said. "We get another opportunity to compete and they are fired up. We will find out Monday where we are going and close out the season strong. They've done a phenomenal job this year."
 
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.
 
2021 MRGC Championships – Logan, Utah – Dee Glen Smith Spectrum – March 20, 2021
 
Team Results: 1. BYU – 196.925 (vault: 49.125, bars: 49.325, beam: 49.050, floor: 49.425); 2. Boise State – 196.725 (vault: 49.325, bars: 49.150, beam: 48.950, floor: 49.300); 3. Utah State – 196.250 (vault: 49.025, bars: 48.900, beam: 49.100, floor: 49.225); 4. Southern Utah – 196.225 (vault: 48.950, bars: 49.100, beam: 49.025, floor: 49.150).
 
Vault: 1. Courtney Blackson – BSU, 9.950; 2. Abbey Miner Alder – BYU, 9.900; T3. Tessa Otuafi – BSU, 9.875; T3. Emily Lopez – BSU, 9.875; T7. Leighton Varnadore – USU, 9.825; T10. Rebecca Wells – USU, 9.800; T10. Grace Rojas – USU, 9.800; T10. Logan Varnadore – USU, 9.800; T10. Mikaela Meyer – USU, 9.800; T22. Autumn DeHarde – USU, 9.725.
 
Bars: 1. Emily Muhlenhaupt – BSU, 9.925; T2. Anyssa Alvarado – BYU, 9.900; T2. Abby Stainton – BYU, 9.900; T5. Grace Rojas – USU, 9.850; T17. Eve Jackson – USU, 9.775; T17. Brianna Brooks – USU, 9.775; T20. Jessica Gutierrez – USU, 9.750; T20. Maia Fishwick – USU, 9.750; 23. Leighton Varnadore – USU, 9.650.
 
Beam: 1. Adriana Popp – BSU, 9.900; T2. Autumn DeHarde – USU, 9.875; T2. Karley McClain – SUU, 9.850; T4. Rebecca Wells – USU, 9.850; T4. Leighton Varnadore – USU, 9.850; T4. Taylor Dittmar – USU, 9.850; 19. Carley Bayles – USU, 9.675; 22. Brianna Brooks – USU, 9.375.
 
Floor: 1. Abbey Miner Alder – BYU, 9.950; 2. Brittney Vitkauskas – BYU, 9.925; 3. Maddi Nilson – BSU, 9.900; T4. Autumn DeHarde – USU, 9.875; T8. Ariel Toomey – USU, 9.850; T8. Eve Jackson – USU, 9.850; T8. Rebecca Wells – USU, 9.850; T18. Jessica Gutierrez – USU, 9.800; 23. Leighton Varnadore – USU, 9.750.
 
All-Around: 1. Leighton Varnadore – USU, 39.075.
 
-USU-