BYU gymnastics finishes fourth at Best of Utah meet 

Kenady Clark

BYU gymnastics took fourth with a score of 195.050 on Friday at this year’s Rio Tinto Best of Utah meet at the Maverik Center.

The Cougars started the night at vault, where Allix Mason and Sydney Benson tied for fifth individually with a 9.825 mark. Moving to the bars, Anyssa Alvaradon placed second individually with a 9.900, helping propel the Cougars to second as a team at the bars. Elease Rollins placed eighth individually with a 9.85 on the beam, showing why she is known as “the beam queen”.

The last rotation of the night was floor, where Rebekah Ripley wowed the audience as she turned into a doll for her routine set to “Barbie Girl” by Aqua, complete with plastic squeaking sounds. Ripley debuted her new routine last week at the Cougars’ season opener, which was her first time back in the BYU lineup since 2019 after suffering two ACL tears. Not only did Ripley score a 9.825 and tie for sixth, but her routine has gone viral after being featured in People magazine and on ESPN’s social media channels.

No. 6 Utah took home the cup with a score of 197.750. The Red Rocks’ beam team solidified the win in the forth rotation with a combined beam score of 49.675, which included an impressive perfect 10 performance from Kara Eaker. The Utes were followed by Southern Utah’s 196.175 and 195.800 from Utah State.

This year’s Best of Utah meet was the fourth edition of the contracted five that Rio Tinto and the Maverick Center will host for these Utah teams, with the Utes taking home the cup all four times.

Overall, BYU’s team score shows improvement as they scored a 193.775 in its season opener at the Super 16 Vegas meet last week. The Cougars now look to Boise State as they welcome them to the Marriott Center for their home opener on Jan. 20 at 7 p.m.