Utah Gymnastics Advances To 48th Straight Appearance At Nationals
Apr 7, 2024, 4:55 PM
GAINESVILLE, FL – The No. 5 Red Rocks are in postseason form after securing their fourth straight Pac-12 Title but needed to keep the momentum going to advance to their 48th straight appearance at Nationals.
Utah needed to place in the top two of the Florida Regional Final to advance to Nationals, but the path was rocky to start. The Utes had to overcome a fourth place start on bars and beat out Missouri in the last rotation on vault to place second overall.
The Red Rocks ultimately got the job done with a 197.575 for second place despite four missed routines on the day. Florida took first by a long shot with a 198.325 and will join Utah in Texas on April 18 and 19 for Nationals.
This Ain’t Texas, but we’ll be there! #RedRocks | #48Straight pic.twitter.com/US6XlmEBlL
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 7, 2024
Utah Bars, Florida Beam, Missouri Floor, MSU Vault
Utah got off to a disastrous start to the Florida Regional final with both Makenna Smith (9.500) and Alani Sabado (9.200) posting falls to start and finish the Red Rocks’ bars rotation. The middle of Utah’s bar rotation was good with Ella Zirbes (9.825), Amelie Morgan (9.825) and Maile O’Keefe (9.875) hitting their routines. Grace McCallum had the Utes’ highest score (9.950) to give Utah a 48.975 team score.
No surprise with two falls on bars, Utah is in fourth place. Will need to be flawless moving forward if they want any hope of being one of the top two out of this final.
1) Florida 49.600
2) Missouri 49.525
3) MSU 49.425
4) Utah 48.975Utah moves to beam next.#Utes
— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) April 7, 2024
Grace McCallum knows how to bring it on the big stage, with a 9⃣.9⃣5⃣0⃣ 🙌
📺 ESPN+#RedRocks | #WeOverMe pic.twitter.com/3JFxzXlq0V
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 7, 2024
Scores from the first rotation ⤵️#WeOverMe | #RedRocks pic.twitter.com/vteh3gHl7h
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 7, 2024
Utah Beam, Florida Floor, Missouri Vault, MSU Bars
The Red Rocks looked like they were off to the races on beam until Grace McCallum fell (9.350). Amelie Morgan and Makenna Smith were both good for 9.900s while Abby Paulson (9.850) and Jaylene Gilstrap (9.875) put up solid scores. Maile O’Keefe put up the biggest score on the event (9.950) to give the Utes a 49.475 team score moving Utah into third place.
Utah jumps MSU for third place and need .35+ to move into second place. Floor and Vault cannot have mistakes.
1) Florida 99.250
2) Missouri 98.800
3) Utah 98. 450
4) MSU 98.425#Utes— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) April 7, 2024
Maile O’Keefe does her thing, scoring a 9⃣.9⃣5⃣0⃣ 👑
📺 ESPN+#RedRocks | #WeOverMe pic.twitter.com/h8vdnnkM4p
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 7, 2024
Time for floor! 🙌#WeOverMe | #RedRocks pic.twitter.com/v4TUWyuCmc
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 7, 2024
Utah Floor, Florida Vault, Missouri Bars, MSU Beam
Utah recovered in a big way on floor posting a 49.625 team score to tie Missouri for second place.
Abby Paulson and Jaylene Gilstrap led the way with 9.950’s. Makenna Smith and Grace McCallum added 9.900’s while Maile O’Keefe posted a 9.925. Jaedyn Rucker put up a respectable 9.850 that the Utes were able to drop.
This meet will literally come down to the last rotation after Utah tied Missouri for second place after a monstrous floor rotation.
1) Florida 148.825
2) Utah, Missouri 148.075
3) MSU 147.100Utah moves to vault which is always an interesting adventure.#GoUtes
— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) April 7, 2024
Jaylene adds another 9.950 to go with Abby’s 9.950 👀
📺ESPN+#RedRocks | #WeOverMe pic.twitter.com/HRLwKQ1Qd4
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 7, 2024
One rotation to go in Gainesville! #WeOverMe | #RedRocks pic.twitter.com/LDD23GTMk0
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 7, 2024
Utah Vault, Florida Bars, Missouri Beam, MSU Floor
Utah dug deep with a big-time vault performance to send themselves to Nationals for a 48th straight time after posting a 49.500 team score.
Grace McCallum and Ella Zirbes started things off with two 9.850’s. Ashley Glynn added a 9.900 while Makenna Smith and Jaedyn Rucker posted the biggest scores of the night with 9.950’s. Jaylene Gilstrap went last, but wasn’t needed and posted a 9.625 that was dropped.
Florida wins the round with a 198.325 with Utah coming in second 197.575 to advance to Nationals in two weeks.
Missouri came in third with a 197.325 and MSU rounded things out in fourth with a 196.650.#GoUtes #LightTheU
— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) April 7, 2024
Makenna Smith is cold for this one 🥶
📺ESPN+#RedRocks | #WeOverMe pic.twitter.com/l98NNhYJFp
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 7, 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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