KayCee Gassaway competes on the bars in a home meet against SUU. Gassaway earned a team-high score in two events at the MRGC championships Saturday. (Universe photo)
BYU gymnastics took fifth place at the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference championships Saturday night.
The Cougars scored 194.225 points, but lost to Boise State University (196.625), Southern Utah University (196.275), University of Denver (196.075) and Utah State University (195.125). Denver, Boise State and Southern Utah were all nationally-ranked teams upon entering the match.
Makenzie Johnson won third place in the all-around competition with a personal score of 39.150, despite the team's overall loss. Jill Van Mierlo sprained her ankle in practice and couldn't help represent BYU. The team's score suffered without her consistency.
'We competed against a lot of great teams today,' BYU head coach Brad Cattermole said.'We didn't have our best meet, but I'm proud of our team.'
BYU's first two events were their highest-scoring of the evening. KayCee Gassaway led BYU's performance on floor with 9.800 points. Johnson and Jordan Schult each earned 9.750. Emily Vidmar and Ashley Robinson added 9.725 and 9.700 respectively for the team's event total of 48.725.
Johnson earned BYU's top score of 9.825 on vault and Schult followed with 9.775. Gassaway and Mikaela Jones both scored 9.750, which marked a season high for Jones. Sin To finished the vault for the Cougars. Her 9.725 gave the team 48.825 on the event.
BYU struggled more on the uneven bars and earned 48.425 points. Gassaway's 9.800 made her the team leader once again. Vidmar and Johnson also added decent scores of 9.750 and 9.700, but none of the other scores broke 9.650.
The Cougars finished the meet on the beam. The event has generally been the team's lowest-scoring during the season and this meet was no exception. Johnson performed well and earned the team–high 9.875. Robinson actually scored a career-high 9.825 and Vidmar recorded 9.800. Schult added 9.650 for the team. The Cougars had to take a 9.100 for the final tally, and the team score of 48.250 wasn't enough to elevate BYU from last place.
BYU gymnastics finished the season with three first-place wins, earning their highest score of 196.375 at the last regular-season meet. The Cougars will find out if their season is over or if they'll move on to regionals Monday during the National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Selection Announcement at 1 p.m. MDT.
'We'll wait and see what the rest of the season holds,' Cattermole said.