BYU gymnastics reacts to going viral with ‘mannequin challenge’

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The BYU gymnastics team went viral after posting a mannequin challenge video. (Screenshot)
The BYU gymnastics team went viral after posting a mannequin challenge video. (Screenshot)

The BYU Gymnastics team got in on the fun of the trending “mannequin challenge” last week by posting a video on their Facebook page.

After more than 3.5 million views and 34,500 shares, ESPN named the Cougars the winners of the challenge.

“I was so surprised,” junior Jill Van Mierlo said, “I was so excited just to get our name out there, because I feel like a lot of the other collegiate teams have really big names but BYU is the underdog.”

Van Mierlo said that the team has been so surprised by how many views the video has gotten and is astounded every time they’re mentioned by a major news source.

The BYU gymnastics team going viral hasn’t only been good publicity, it’s also unified the team and motivated them for their upcoming season.

“I think it’s really fun and it has brought our team together,” Van Mierlo said. “Together we made such a cool video and that has brought us together as a team and it’s motivated us because our name is out there.”

The newly-unified Cougars have just one more goal: they want a shout out from Ellen DeGeneres.

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