CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah gymnastics team hosted the MRGC Championship meet Saturday night. The Flippin' Birds finished in fourth place at the meet with a total score of 195.575.
The Boise State Broncos were crowned MRGC champions for the fourth year in a row with a score of 196.875. The BYU Cougars finished in second place with a 196.00 and the Utah State Aggies finished third with a 195.825.
"I thought the meet was amazing. All four of those teams went out there and battled," head coach Scotty Bauman said. "I know we took fourth, but I am so proud of this team. We made mistakes because we were trying too hard to do things a little bit better rather than do things well. This team has so much heart and they want to win."
Southern Utah opened the meet on beam where they scored a team score of 48.850. All-around competitors Karen Gonzalez and Autumn Jorgensen led the way on the event, each scoring a 9.800. Alyssa LaDieu scored a 9.775 and Hannah Nipp hit a 9.750. Kamryn Bayer rounded out the scoring with a 9.725.
The Flippin' Birds then moved to floor where they earned their best team score of the night, a 49.225. Jorgensen continued her strong outing with a 9.900, her fifth 9.900 of the season. Hannah Nipp was right behind her with a 9.875 and Gonzalez hit a 9.850. Molly Jozwiakowski scored a 9.825 and Madison McBride rounded out the scoring with a 9.775.
The Thunderbirds were on vault for the third rotation where Jorgensen led the way once again with a 9.825. Jozwiakowski and Madison McBride were right behind her with a 9.775 and a 9.725 respectively. Gonzalez hit a 9.675 and Madison Loomis rounded out the scoring with a 9.400, giving the T-Birds a team score of 48.400.
Southern Utah finished the night on bars where every score for the T-Birds was 9.800 or higher. Madison Howlett and Kirsten Yee both scored a 9.850. Gonzalez, Jorgensen, and Madison McBride all scored a 9.800, giving the Thunderbirds a team score of 49.100.
Gonzalez and Jorgensen both competed in the all-around for the Thunderbirds. Gonzalez earned a combined score of 39.125 and Jorgensen earned a 39.325. Their scores earned Jorgensen First Team All-Conference honors and Gonzalez Second Team All-Conference.
Jorgensen was also named First Team All-Conference on floor.
Howlett and Yee were the other two Thunderbirds to earn All-Conference honors, being named to the second team for their scores on bars.
The Flippin' Birds will find out where they will be headed for the NCAA Regional Championship Monday at 2:00 p.m.
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