BOISE, Idaho – Utah State's 25th-ranked gymnastics team is seeking its first Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference championship this weekend in the Gem State.
 
The Aggies (11-9) will take on No. 21 BYU (13-4-1), No. 24 Boise State (7-6) and Southern Utah (8-8), on Saturday, March 19, at 6 p.m. (MT), at ExtraMile Arena.
 
The MRGC Championships will be streamed online at broncosports.com. Additionally, live scoring will be available online at statbroadcast.com, and Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State gymnastics social media outlets for meet updates.
 
In its previous five outings at the MRGC Championships – the 2020 championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic – Utah State has placed second (2017), third (2018 and 2021) and fourth (2016 and 2019).
 
The Aggies hosted the championships in 2021 and recorded a 196.250, which is the best score they have ever produced in a conference championship meet. Furthermore, it is currently the ninth-best home score in school history.
 
Utah State has captured five conference championships, including four while the Aggies were members of the Big West (1992, 1996, 1998, 2001). Utah State's last league title came in 2005, when it won its first and only Western Gymnastics Conference crown with a 195.150, beating Southern Utah (194.350), Boise State (193.700) and Cal State Fullerton (193.550).
 
The Aggies lead the all-time series with Boise State 56-53-1, including a 20-17-1 mark for the Broncos at home. The two teams last met on Feb. 18, 2022, in an MRGC dual meet at ExtraMile Arena. The Broncos won the meet 196.950-195.800, and have won four in a row over the Aggies.
 
BYU leads the all-time series with Utah State 87-50-1, including a 23-14 mark at neutral sites. Saturday will be the fourth matchup between the Aggies and Cougars this season, as USU won the first meeting before BYU captured the next two.
 
Utah State leads the all-time series with Southern Utah 55-54, including a 2-1 mark this season. At neutral-site meets, the Thunderbirds lead the Aggies 17-9.
 
Utah State closed out the regular season with a second-place finish at the Minnesota quad meet last Saturday, at Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Aggies could not overcome a slow start on bars and finished with a 195.200. No. 8 Minnesota placed first with a 197.850, Temple took third with a 193.625 and Long Island placed fourth with a 193.200.
 
The Aggies picked up a pair of wins over the Owls and Sharks to improve their season total to 11 victories, reaching the double-figure win plateau for the first time since 2015. Furthermore, the 11 wins are the most in a single season since 2015 and 2007, when those two squads went 11-15 overall.
 
Utah State is ranked No. 25 in the country in Week 10 of the Road to Nationals rankings with a National Qualifying Score (NQS) of 196.435. Rankings are determined by NQS, which is calculated with the six-highest scores of the season, at least three of which must be from away meets. The highest of the six scores is dropped, and the remaining five scores are averaged.
 
Utah State's overall NQS of 196.435, which is the highest in school history, remained unchanged after placing second at the Minnesota quad meet. However, the Aggies did increase their NQS on floor (49.280).
 
Individually, freshman Brie Clark ranks first in the MRGC and is tied for 15th nationally on floor (9.935). The native of Daphne, Alabama, placed fifth on floor with a 9.925 at the Minnesota quad meet. She has recorded a 9.900 or better on floor in nine of the Aggies' 11 meets this season
 
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.
 
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