LOGAN, Utah – Utah State gymnast Rebecca Wells has been named the America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week for the period ending on Sunday, Jan. 9. The award is voted on by a state-wide media panel.
 
With their sponsorship of the Student-Athlete of the Week, America First Credit Union donates funds directly to support student-athlete scholarships.
 
Wells won the all-around with a 39.125 to help the Aggies place second at the third-annual Rio Tinto Best of Utah Meet last weekend at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. The junior all-arounder bettered the 38.950 turned in by Utah freshman Grace McCallum, who was a member of the silver medal-winning 2020 U.S. Olympic Team.
 
Wells helped Utah State finish the meet with a 195.875 to beat both No. 19 BYU (195.225) and No. 25 Southern Utah (195.000). No. 4 Utah placed first with a 197.100. The 195.875 is the highest season-opening score in the history of the program, easily surpassing the 194.600 the Aggies scored at the Pittsburgh quad meet in 2019.
 
Furthermore, Wells helped Utah State record a 49.100 on beam and 49.100 on floor, both of which are the highest season- and road-opening scores in school history.
 
The native of Smyrna, Tennessee, tied for 15th on both vault (9.750) and bars (9.775), placed 12th on beam (9.800) and tied for ninth on floor (9.800).
 
For more information on the Utah State gymnastics program, follow the Aggies on Twitter at @USUGymnastics, on Facebook at UtahStateGymnastics and on Instagram at USUGymnastics. 
 
Nominees from other sports for USU Student-Athlete of the Week included:
MEN'S BASKETBALL – Senior forward Justin Bean (Moore, Oklahoma) led the Aggies to a 90-87 overtime victory at New Mexico as he recorded his 36th-career double-double to move into a tie for third all-time in school history. Bean finished the game with 21 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from the floor, 50.0 percent (1-of-2) from behind the 3-point line and 66.7 percent (2-of-3) at the charity stripe. Bean also added a game-high four steals and tacked on three assists, playing in more than 43 minutes.
 
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL – Senior guard Kaylin Randhawa (Turlock, California) finished in double figures in all three games last week as the Aggies posted an 0-3 Mountain West record with a 65-54 loss at Nevada, a 98-83 home loss to New Mexico and a 71-47 loss at Boise State. Against the Wolf Pack, Randhawa had 12 points, seven rebounds, one assist and one block. She led the team against the Lobos with 19 points, while also adding five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Randhawa once again led the Aggies in scoring against the Broncos with 11 points and registered five rebounds and two assists. For the week, Randhawa averaged 14.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.3 blocks per game. She shot 40.0 percent (16-of-40) from the field, 25.0 percent (4-of-16) from behind the arc and 100.0 percent (6-of-6) at the free throw line.
 
2021-22 America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week Winners
Aug. 30 – Ashley Cardozo, Soccer
Sept. 6 – Deven Thompkins, Football
Sept. 13 – Sammie Murdock, Soccer
Sept. 20 – Tenzi Knowles, Soccer
Sept. 27 – Bodin Zarkovic, Men's Tennis
Oct. 4 – Caleb Garnica, Men's Cross Country
Oct. 11 – Kennedi Boyd, Volleyball
Oct. 18 – Savon Scarver, Football
Oct. 25 – Sara Taylor, Soccer
Nov. 1 – Katie Haviland, Women's Cross Country
Nov. 8 – Deven Thompkins, Football
Nov. 15 – Justin Bean, Men's Basketball
Nov. 22 – Justin Bean, Men's Basketball
Nov. 29 – Logan Bonner, Football
Dec. 6 – Logan Bonner, Football
Dec. 13 – Adryana Quezada, Women's Basketball
Dec. 20 – Nick Heninger, Football
Dec. 27 – Justin Bean, Men's Basketball
Jan. 2 – Justin Bean, Men's Basketball
Jan. 9 – Rebecca Wells, Gymnastics
 
-USU-