The Southern Utah University gymnastics team competed in the Rio Tinto Best of Utah meet on Jan. 15 at 4 p.m. alongside athletes from Brigham Young University, Utah State University and the University of Utah.
The Utah Utes took the meet with an overall score of 197.725, followed by the BYU Cougars, who ended at 195.775. The Flippin’ Birds trailed closely behind them at 194.000, beating the Utah State Aggies’ score of 193.600.
Vault
The University of Utah dominated on the vault with a total of 49.075 points. Ute gymnast Makenna Smith earned a 9.875, the highest score of the event. SUU and BYU tied for second, both holding scores of 48.775. Kayla Purdue got a 9.800, which was SUU’s highest score on the vault, tying her for fourth in the event. The Aggies finished last with a 48.600.
Bars
U of U got the highest score on the bars as well, earning 49.500 in total. SUU followed with a total score of 49.350 for their highest-scoring event. Flippin’ Bird Isabella Neff earned a 9.900, which included a near-perfect 9.950 from one of the judges. USU came in third with a 49.075, and BYU took last at 48.950.
Beam
The Utes held a strong lead on the beam with a score of 49.550 — thanks to Maile O’Keefe’s perfect 10.000 — while the Cougars took second with 48.975. The Aggies came behind them at 48.200. The beams were the Flippin’ Birds lowest-scoring event of the meet, finishing with a cumulative score of 47.650.
Floor
U of U topped again on the floor, scoring 49.600. BYU got a score of 49.075, the second highest in the event. SUU took third with 48.225, while USU settled in last place with a 47.675.
Southern Utah’s Niya Randolph earned a score of 9.850 on her floor routine, tying her for sixth place in the event. Not only was Randolph the highest-scoring Flippin’ Bird on the floor, but she was SUU’s highest-scoring all-around athlete, placing third overall.
Coming up
This week, the Flippin’ Birds will take on Utah State University and Arizona State University at home. The meet will take place on Friday, Jan. 19, in the America First Event Center at 7 p.m.
Author: Heather Turner
Photographer: Anden Garfield
Editor: Anden Garfield
sports@suunews.net