LOGAN, Utah – This one was for Ray Corn.
 
On a night the Aggies paid tribute to the first head coach in program history, they made sure to honor his memory with a tri-meet sweep over Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference-rival Southern Utah and Ball State.
 
No. 20 Utah State (7-3, 3-1 MRGC) recorded a 196.425 to finish first in front of 1,824 fans Friday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The 24th-ranked Thunderbirds (3-5, 1-4 MRGC) took second with a 195.550 and the Cardinals (4-7-1, 0-2-0 MAC) placed third with a 194.350.
 
"It was a special night, and I'm just so grateful that we were able to light the A blue for Ray and get two more wins at home," said fifth-year Utah State head coach Amy Smith. "It was so special to really celebrate him tonight with a win."
 
At 7-3 overall, the Aggies are off to their best start yet under Smith. This is also Utah State's best start to a season since opening the 1999 campaign under Corn at 11-1.
 
Aggie gymnasts wore "RC" patches on their warmups and donned "RC" temporary tattoos in memory of Corn while they competed. Video segments recounting Corn's impact on Utah State, Aggie alums and the gymnastics community were played throughout the meet.
 
On Saturday, Utah State Athletics will officially unveil the new name of its gymnastics practice facility, located in the Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) building. It will be named the Ray Corn Gymnastics Training Facility in recognition of the impact that Corn made on Utah State Gymnastics, the student-athletes he coached and Cache Valley as a whole.
 
"It was nice to see everyone back here," said junior all-arounder Rebecca Wells, when asked about the Aggie alums in attendance. "It was just great that they could come back here and experience tonight with us."
 
Wells won the all-around with a personal-best 39.250. The native of Smyrna, Tennessee, also had a personal-best 9.925 on beam, which is tied for ninth all-time in school history, to place second on the event.
 
"It was a pretty good night," Wells said. "We pushed really hard this week in training and I feel like it showed up in everyone, so it went well."
 
Utah State opened with a 49.025 on vault. Wells tied for third with a 9.850, while freshman Trinity Brown tied for fifth with a career-high 9.825.
 
"Trinity started the whole meet off with a stuck giant Yurchenko full, which was awesome," Smith said.
 
For the second time in as many weeks, Maia Fishwick led the Aggies on bars as the junior from Auckland, New Zealand, won the event with a 9.900. Fellow junior Sofi Sullivan and sophomore Brianna Brooks tied for second with matching 9.850s, helping Utah State record a 49.000.
 
The Aggies shined on beam in the third rotation, finishing with a 49.475, which is tied for third all-time in school history. Sullivan won the event with a season-high 9.950, which is tied for second all-time. Senior Carley Bayles added a 9.900 to place third.
 
"Beam is just on fire this year," Wells said. "We've been putting in the work in gym, and we have a lot of freshmen coming in with new routines and new big scores, so we have been putting it all together really well."
 
Utah State closed the meet on floor with a 48.925. Brown and Wells each recorded a 9.875 to tie for first. For Brown, it was a career-best score.
 
The Aggies and Thunderbirds will square off again on Friday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m., at the America First Event Center in Cedar City.
 
"We've got a lot of really great things happening, and we still haven't put together a complete meet at the level that we can," Smith said. "We've had some great 196s, but our goal is to push the 197-range. I fully believe we are capable of doing that."
 
Corn, who died on Aug. 13, 2021, at the age of 71, transitioned Utah State's gymnastics program from club level to NCAA status, serving as the Aggies' head coach for 31 years before retiring in 2008. He had an overall record of 448-448-2 (.500), including a regular-season mark of 342-260-2 (.566), and led the Aggies to the postseason 26 times, five of which culminated at the national championships. In 1991, Utah State finished 12th as a team at the NCAA Championships.
 
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. 24 Southern Utah/Ball State at No. 20 Utah State – Logan, Utah – Dee Glen Smith Spectrum – February 4, 2022
 
Team Results: 1. Utah State - 196.425 (vault: 49.025, bars: 49.000, beam: 49.475, floor: 48.925); 2. Southern Utah - 195.550 (vault: 49.075, bars: 48.850, beam: 48.950, floor: 48.675); 3. Ball State - 194.350 (vault 48.975, bars: 47.875, beam: 48.625, floor: 48.875).
 
Vault: T1. Suki Pfister - BSU, 9.900; T1. Caitlin Kho - SUU, 9.900; T3. Rebecca Wells - USU, 9.850; T3. Morgan Alfaro - SUU, 9.850; T5. Trinity Brown - USU, 9.825; T5. Brianna Brooks - USU, 9.825; T9. Brie Clark - USU, 9.775; T12. Molly Arnold - USU, 9.750.
 
Bars: 1. Maia Fishwick - USU, 9.900; T2. Sofi Sullivan - USU, 9.850; T2. Brianna Brooks - USU, 9.850; T4. Jessica Gutierrez - USU, 9.800; 14 - Rebecca Wells - USU, 9.600.
 
Beam: 1. Sofi Sullivan - USU, 9.950; 2. Rebecca Wells - USU, 9.925; 3. Carley Bayles - USU, 9.900; T4. Kielyn McCright - USU, 9.850; T4 - Brie Clark - USU, 9.850.
 
Floor: T1. Trinity Brown - USU, 9.875; T1. Rebecca Wells - USU, 9.875; 3. Megan Teter - BSU, 9.850; T4. Jessica Gutierrez - USU, 9.825; 9. Eve Jackson - USU, 9.775; 16. Molly Arnold - USU, 9.575.
 
All-Around: 1. Rebecca Wells - USU, 39.250; 2. Hannah Ruthberg - BSU, 39.175.
 
-USU-