CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Flippin' Birds are preparing to start the 2025 season and want to show off their new routines. The team will be hosting a preview meet this Friday, December 5, at 6:30 p.m. in the America First Event Center. The preview will give fans a chance to get to know this year's team and hear a little from the coaches about our defending Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Champions. 

Coach Scotty Bauman Said

"We are so excited to give our fans an early look at our incredible team this year. These athletes have worked extremely hard to prepare for the season, and we can't wait to show Cedar City what we are capable of."

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The Competition 

This year, the preview will more closely follow the format of a regular meet, with the team competing as a split squad. Each athlete has been assigned to either the Red or the Black team, and rosters for the meet can be found below. 

Red Team                           

Niya Randolph

Mia Hampton

Carilia Martinez

Mackenzie Kelly

Taylor Gull

Sage Paladino

Elliot Bringhurst

Ellie Thomson

Alex Routsis

Rylee Miller

Emily Countryman

Black Team

Brinlee Christensen

Ellie Cacciola

Kendall McGuire

Alyssa Fernandez

Kayla Pardue

Isabella Neff

Mya North

Maria Ferguson

Trista Goodman

Marisa de Groot

Amelia Rieder

Southern Utah Notes

• The Flippin' Birds have won consecutive Conference Championships in two separate conferences. Winning the Final MRGC Championship before transitioning to the MPSF and securing their first title in their new conference. The T-Birds finished the season ranked #27 in the country.
• The Thunderbirds had a historic performance at home vs BYU last season, scoring 197.125. (3rd best in program history and an MPSF conference record) 
• Sophomore Niya Randolph was named the MPSF conference Gymnast of the Year for her outstanding consistency in the all-around in the 2024 season. Randolph set a new school and conference record for the all-around with a 39.600 in the home meet against BYU last season. 
• Sophomore Brinlee Christensen was named the MPSF Freshman of the Year for her outstanding debut last year.
• The Flippin' Birds swept the first-team All-MPSF honors with the top four bar workers in the conference. Randolph and Junior Trista Goodman each scored a 9.950 on the bars last year, setting a high standard for the team. The Thunderbirds set a new School and Conference record on the bars against Penn Staten last season, scoring 49.475. 
• Southern Utah has four returning gymnasts who finished the season ranked in the top 100 nationally, including Kayla Pardue (#91 Vault), Kennedi McClain (#91 Beam), Ellie Cacciola (#41 Beam), and Niya Randolph (#97 Floor, #47 Bars, #43 All-Around). 
• The Thunderbirds are coached by Scott Bauman, who was named the MRGC Coach of the Year in 2023. 
• Associate Head Coach Jamie Wysong and Assistant Coach Jeff Richards were named the 2024 Assistant Coaches of the Year for the MPSF conference.   

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