Gym Devils fall short in Big 12 Championships and finish fifth

(Photo credit: Maya Diaz/WCSN)

The tension was high and the competition fierce at the Maverick Center in Utah Saturday night. The second session of the Big 12 Championships featured No. 4 Utah, No. 18 Denver, No. 21 Arizona, and No. 24 Arizona State.

The Red Rocks were named the Big 12 Champions with a final score of 197.775, behind them was the Wildcats in second with 196.675, the Pioneers in third with 196.400, and the Cougars, who moved up in the rankings and passed the Gym Devils to secure the fourth place title with a 196.250.

ASU delivered some solid routines, but in the end struggled with wobbles on beam and steps on vault. With a final score of 195.975, the Gym Devils dropped one spot in the final conference rankings.

The first rotation started with the Red Rocks on vault. Senior Grace McCallum scored a 9.900 alongside junior Ashley Glynn who scored the same. Next was Denver, which had a tough start on bars. Sophomore Madison Ulrich got a 9.675, but graduate Rylie Mundell and junior Kiley Rorich reeled it in and secured scores of 9.850 and 9.825, respectively.

The third seed in the conference was the Wildcats, who had a rocky start on beam with a few wobbles. However, All-Big 12 all-around team member and sophomore Abigayle Martin got a 9.925 along with All-Big 12 beam competitor and fifth-year Elena Deets who scored a 9.850. Lastly, the Gym Devils began on floor with solid scores from fifth-year Jada Mangahas who secured a 9.800, and Emily White who had a bit of a rough first tumbling pass, but didn’t let it get in the way of her performance and scored a 9.875.

Utah led after the first rotation. Trailing behind was Arizona in second, Arizona State in third and Denver in fourth.

Rotation two kept Utah in the lead as junior Makenna Smith started the bars rotation strong and secured a 9.925. Next, senior Amelie Morgan scored a 9.875, along with sophomore Ella Zirbes who secured the same score. Last on bars was McCallum, who didn’t perform the way she may have hoped and scored a 9.825.

The Pioneers put up a solid beam rotation where junior Cecilia Cooley scored a 9.850 and senior Momoko Iwai posted a 9.900. On the other hand, Ulrich fell during her routine and only secured a 9.300 for the Pioneers. However, Denver still moved up to third in the standings after the second rotation.

The Wildcats stayed in second after their floor rotation. Seniors Alysen Fears and Elizabeth Russo began the rotation with scores of 9.875 and 9.850. The Gym Devils dropped to fourth after their vault rotation finished with a score of 48.825, marking their worst event of the night.

The Red Rocks continued their momentum on beam and tied their season-high score of 49.625. McCallum and sophomore Camie Winger both scored 9.925s. Junior Ana Padurariu and freshman Avery Neff received scores of 9.950. Denver had consistent scores throughout its floor rotation with four scores of 9.800 or better. Arizona also had consistent scores in the third rotation on vault, but the most notable performances came from Russo and freshman Jessa Janicke, who both scored a 9.850. ASU stayed in fourth after the bars rotation despite fifth-year Sarah Clark’s 9.900.

Through three rotations, the Red Rocks held onto first place. Succeeding them was Arizona in second, Denver in third and Arizona State in fourth. The crowd was rowdy going into the final rotation of the competition. Utah’s victory was imminent, but for the other three teams, it all came down to the final rotation.

Red Rock fans were especially loud in the stands considering the Maverick Center’s proximity to Utah’s home in Salt Lake City, and that enegy was felt throughout Utah’s floor rotation. Three scores of 9.875 came from fifth-year Jaylene Gilstrap, Zirbes and Neff. To finish the rotation, McCallum received a 9.900, and despite her beam performance prior, Smith posted a solid 9.925.

Denver had a solid performance on vault to close out the meet. Juniors Mila Brusch and Bella Mabanta both had 9.900s with stuck landings. Next to the Pioneers were the Wildcats who also showed up for the fourth rotation on bars. Freshman Aubrey Krohnfeldt began the rotation with a stuck dismount and a 9.850. Martin, Deets and Fears all scored 9.875s.

The Gym Devils ended the competition with consistent beam scores, but the rotation consisted of many wobbles throughout the routines. Juniors Kayla Lee and Kimberly Smith and Clark all received the same score of 9.850. White received the Devil’s highest beam score of the meet with a 9.875. Although ASU achieved its best event score of the competition with a 49.125, it wasn’t enough to surpass BYU’s afternoon session score.

Now, the Gym Devils will await their placement for NCAA Regionals on Monday in the Selection Show. Their performance in Utah wasn’t the note they hoped to end their Big 12 season on, but there’s still a chance for ASU to recover and put up a strong showing in the NCAA postseason.