PROVO, Utah – For the second time in as many meets, the No. 23 Utah State gymnastics team notched its highest score of the season.

Despite that, the Aggies know they still have plenty of room for improvement.

Behind eight top-three finishes, including two each by freshman Brie Clark, sophomore Brianna Brooks and junior Rebecca Wells, Utah State recorded a 196.450 against No. 21 BYU in a Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference dual meet Friday night at the Smith Fieldhouse.

The Cougars won their home opener by scoring a 196.775 in front of 1,952 fans.
 
"We did really well," said Brooks, who tied for first on vault with a 9.875 and tied for third on bars with a 9.900, both career highs. "We definitely have more in the tank, but overall, it was a good start and it's great to build off of from here."
 
Utah State's 196.450 is the second-highest road score in series history against BYU. It is also just the third time the Aggies (5-3, 2-1 MRGC) have eclipsed the 196-plateau in Provo. Furthermore, it is the 10th-best score in school history, including the sixth-best score on the road.

"It was a good meet, but we didn't capitalize on the greatness that we've been seeing in practice and what we're capable of doing," said fifth-year Utah State head coach Amy Smith. "We have to get better at settling in and starting off the meet strong. Overall, it was a good night, but it is nowhere near what we should be doing. We want to be great. Hopefully, this inspires them to get back into practice and get after it."
 
The Aggies enjoyed a strong night with five gymnasts setting five career highs and tying two personal bests. Utah State either won or tied for first on all four events, while Sadie Miner-Van Tassell won the all-around for BYU (3-3, 2-2 MRGC) with a 39.425.
 
Wells finished second in the all-around with a season-high 39.150.
 
"It is really cool how it is our highest score of the season, but we all know that we can do so much better," said junior Maia Fishwick. "Honestly, we were all a little bit down with how things went, but we showed up and competed. We can for sure do a lot better, but we still did great."
 
As a team, the Aggies finished with a 49.050 on bars, a season-high 49.100 on vault, which is tied for 10th all-time in school history, a 49.025 on floor and a 49.275 on beam, which is tied for sixth all-time in school history.
 
Utah State began the dual meet on bars, where Fishwick tied for first with a season-high 9.925, which is tied for 10th all-time in school history.
 
"It was really nice, but I did that exact routine yesterday in training," Fishwick said. "Right before me and BB's bar routine, we were like, 'Let's do exactly what we did yesterday,' because we both nailed our bar routines yesterday, so we just thought about that."
 
Brooks notched her career-high 9.900 in the fifth spot, while Fishwick followed suit with her season high in the sixth spot.
 
Wells tied Brooks for first on vault with a career-high-tying 9.875. Freshman Molly Arnold tied for seventh as she matched her personal best on the event with a 9.800.
 
"It's so nice to see the hard work that we do in the gym finally pay off," Brooks said. "It's really cool. Coming into the meet, we wanted to have more fun, stay calm and confident, and keep the energy up. I think we did a lot of that and now we just need to keep doing that the rest of the season."
 
Clark finished first on floor for the fourth-straight meet with a 9.925, which is tied for 18th all-time in school history, while Arnold tied for sixth with a personal-best 9.800.
 
Closing the meet on beam, senior Carley Bayles led the way for the Aggies as she tied for first with a career-high 9.925, which is tied for eighth all-time in school history. Clark tied for third with a personal-best 9.900, and Brooks placed fifth with a 9.850.
 
"Carley's routine was incredible," Smith said. "I am just super happy to see that because, once again, that's how she's looked all week in practice. Breezy, I told her right after her routine, 'I knew this was in you.' That was so cool to see her confidence on beam and close us out with that. That was huge."
 
Utah State is back at home on Friday, Feb. 4, at 7 p.m., when the Aggies host MRGC-rival Southern Utah and Ball State.
 
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. 
 
No. 23 Utah State at No. 21 BYU – Provo, Utah – Smith Fieldhouse – January 28, 2022
 
Team Results: 1. BYU –196.775 (vault: 49.125, bars: 49.200, beam: 49.275, floor: 49.175); 2. Utah State – 196.450 (vault: 49.100, bars: 49.050, beam: 49.275, floor: 49.025).
 
Vault: T1. Brianna Brooks – USU, 9.875; T1. Rebecca Wells – USU, 9.875; T3. Lexi Griffith – BYU, 9.850; T3. Sydney Benson – BYU, 9.850; T7. Trinity Brown – USU, 9.800; T7. Molly Arnold – USU, 9.800; 11. Brie Clark – USU, 9.750.
 
Bars: T1. Maia Fishwick – USU, 9.925; T1. Anyssa Alvarado – BYU, 9.925; T3. Brianna Brooks – USU, 9.900; T3. Haley Pitou – BYU, 9.900; T6. Jessica Gutierrez – USU, 9.775; T6. Eve Jackson – USU, 9.775; 10. Rebecca Wells – USU, 9.675; 12. Sofi Sullivan – USU, 9.125.
 
Beam: T1. Carley Bayles – USU, 9.925; T1. Elease Rollins – BYU, 9.925; T3. Brie Clark – USU, 9.900; T3. Sadie Miner-Van Tassell – BYU, 9.900; 5. Brianna Brooks – USU, 9.850; T6. Rebecca Wells – USU, 9.825; 10. Sofi Sullivan – USU, 9.775; 11. Kielyn McCright – USU, 9.750.
 
Floor: 1. Brie Clark – USU, 9.925; 2. Brittany Vitkauskas – BYU, 9.900; T3. Abby Beeston – BYU, 9.825; T3. Adeline Rieder – BYU 9.825; T3. Sadie Miner-Van Tassell – BYU, 9.825; T6. Trinity Brown – USU, 9.800; T6. Molly Arnold – USU 9.800; 9. Rebecca Wells – USU, 9.775; T10. Amari Evans – USU, 9.725; 11. Ariel Toomey – USU, 9.475.
 
All-Around: 1. Sadie Miner-Van Tassell – BYU, 39.425; 2. Rebecca Wells – USU, 39.150.
 
-USU-