No. 1 Oklahoma Fails To Advance, No. 5 Utah Leads Charge At Nationals Semifinals
Apr 18, 2024, 9:04 PM
FORT WORTH, TX – After securing their fourth straight Pac-12 Title the Red Rocks are focused on making a run in their 48th straight appearance at Nationals.
Utah had a major comeback at their regional final to compete at Nationals and need a massive effort to advance to the Final Four on the Floor against Oklahoma, Alabama, and Florida. Mission accomplished.
Utah started strong and never looked back taking the lead in the first rotation and never relenting. The Red Rocks finished first in Nationals Semifinals with a 197.9375. Florida finished second with a 197.8750 to advance to the Final Four as well.
Grace McCallum gets a 9.8750 while Alani Sabado wrapped things up with a 9.9000 to give Utah the Semifinal WIN! Incredible.
Red Rocks (197.9375) and Florida (197.8750) advance.
Oklahoma and Alabama go home after tonight.#GoUtes #LightTheU
— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) April 19, 2024
Shockingly, No. 1 Oklahoma had unprecedented meltdowns on vault and beam preventing them from heading to the final day of Nationals.
Utah Beam, Florida Floor, Oklahoma Vault, Alabama Bars
After rotation one the Red Rocks had the lead with a strong, season-high beam performance posting a team score of 49.6375. Utah got off to a great start with both Amelie Morgan and Makenna Smith posting 9.9250s while Abby Paulson and Maile O’Keefe wrapped things up with 9.9500s. Grace McCallum was good for a 9.8875 in the middle. Utah did drop Jaylene Gilstrap’s 9.2500.
Utah has the lead after rotation one.
1) Red Rocks- 49.6375
2) Alabama- 49.4875
3) Florida- 49.4500
4) Oklahoma- 48.3250 (SHOOK)Utah moves to floor next.#GoUtes
— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) April 19, 2024
Our favorite leadoff gets the show started 💪#RedRocks | #WeOverMe pic.twitter.com/UK3fhGfPY5
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 19, 2024
The beam rotation gets a cool performance from Mak in the No. 2⃣ spot 😎#RedRocks | #WeOverMe pic.twitter.com/DUZqkszoJh
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 19, 2024
Abby Paulson puts up a 9⃣.9⃣5⃣0⃣ 👀
📺ESPN2#RedRocks | #WeOverMe pic.twitter.com/zWTpxZneSm
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 19, 2024
Maile does her thing on beam 👑#RedRocks | #WeOverMe pic.twitter.com/4rIcTryg1U
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 19, 2024
Utah Floor, Florida Vault, Oklahoma Bars, Alabama Beam
The Red Rocks continued to dominate posting a 49.5875 team score to keep them in first place with a 99.2250 after competing on floor in the second rotation. Abby Paulson and Grace McCallum (9.9000), along with Jaylene Gilstrap and Maile O’Keefe (9.9500) accounted for Utah’s highest scores. Makenna Smith added a solid 9.8875 while Jaedyn Rucker’s 9.0875 was dropped.
Grace McCallum earns a 9.9000 to give the Red Rocks a 49.5875 team score on floor. Utah still in the lead.
1) Utah- 99.2250
2) Florida- 98.9500
3) Oklahoma- 97.9875
4) Alabama- 96.7375Red Rocks move to vault.#GoUtes
— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) April 19, 2024
Coming up clutch on floor with a spectacular routine is Abby Paulson🙌#RedRocks | #WeOverMe pic.twitter.com/bVLq4Nlc1j
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 19, 2024
Feeling right at home with this performance ⚔️
📺ESPN2#RedRocks | #WeOverMe pic.twitter.com/mHCeCpdqIJ
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 19, 2024
After Maile’s 9.950, Grace closes out the floor rotation with a strong 9⃣.9⃣0⃣ of her own 🙌#RedRocks | #WeOverMe pic.twitter.com/NfqRKgrzw1
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 19, 2024
Utah Vault, Florida Bars, Oklahoma Beam, Alabama Floor
Utah stayed consistent- though not as strong on vault, but they didn’t need to be posting a team score of 49.200 to keep the lead with a 148.4250 total score. Freshman Ella Zirbes and sophomore Makenna Smith posted the highest scores (9.9125) while Amelie Morgan and Ashley Glynn had the second highest scores (9.8000). Grace McCallum put up a 9.7750 and Jaedyn Rucker a 9.6125 that was dropped.
The Red Rocks still in the lead with one rotation left.
1) Utah- 148.4250
2) Florida- 148.4000
3) Oklahoma- 147.0875
4) Alabama- 146.1500Red Rocks will finish up on bars where they had some troubles in regionals.#GoUtes
— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) April 19, 2024
Fire us ALL the way up with that one‼️
Makenna scores a 9⃣.9⃣1⃣2⃣5⃣
📺ESPN2#RedRocks | #WeOverMe pic.twitter.com/5RQQGdFA9Y
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 19, 2024
Utah Bars, Florida Beam, Oklahoma Floor, Alabama Vault
Utah held strong on bars with Makenna Smith posting a 9.9125, Ella Zirbes a 9.9250, and Amelie Morgan a 9.9000 as the high scores. Maile O’Keefe had 9.8250 while Grace McCallum a 9.8750. Alani Sabado iced the win with a 9.9000 after also having a rough go during the regional final.
Ella Zirbes adds her second score of 9.9+ to the board, after that bars routine 🙌#RedRocks | #WeOverMe pic.twitter.com/MsazI6t20O
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 19, 2024
Keep the 9.9s coming for the bars squad‼️#RedRocks | #WeOverMe pic.twitter.com/p2JwG8wrhU
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 19, 2024
Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on X, Instagram, and Threads: @BodkinKSLsports
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