Red Rocks finish disappointing 4th in quad meet

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (ABC4 Sports) – With some of the top gymnastics teams in town this weekend, the University of Utah finished a disappointing fourth in the highly anticipated quad meet at the Maverik Center Saturday afternoon.

The meet featured #1 Oklahoma, #2 Utah, #5 LSU, and #12 UCLA, and the Red Rocks compiled a score of 196.975 taking fourth place, trailing eventual winner Oklahoma by .925. The Sooners finished with a final score of 197.900. LSU and UCLA finished neck and neck, with the Tigers finishing in second posting a 197.150 and the Bruins closing out the day in third place with a 197.100.
 
The Red Rocks opened the day on bars, posting a pair of back-to-back 9.750 scores. Mckenna Smith led off for Utah followed by Alani Sabado, as both posted a score of 9.750 to get the day started. Amelie Morgan bolstered the Utah score with a score of 9.825. Grace McCallum upped the ante with her routine, scoring a 9.850. Maile O’Keefe kept the Red Rocks scores on the rise, closing out Utah’s round on bars with a team-high score of 9.875.

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After the first rotation, Utah would be on the hunt as the Red Rocks tallied a final bars score of 49.050. Oklahoma finished their opening rotation with a score of 49.450 (vault), UCLA scored 49.200 (floor), LSU rounded out the four-team rotation with a 48.750 (beam).
 
Morgan returned to her spot at the top of the order of the beam rotation, after going fifth in the Red Rocks season opener. Morgan opened the beam performance by scoring a 9.825. McCallum scored a 9.800 in the middle of the order. Abby Paulson scored a team-high 9.925 with the second-to-last beam performance for the Red Rocks.
 
The Red Rocks kept up the chase after the second rotation, taking the team total up to 98.175, trailing LSU in the third spot by just .100. The Tigers posted a 98.275 through two rotations, after competing on beam and floor. Oklahoma maintained the lead after their passes on vault and bars with a score of 98.900. UCLA wasn’t far behind the Sooners with a score of 98.600.
 
Smith was back in the leadoff spot as the Red Rocks took their turn on floor, capturing a score of 9.90. Paulson and Jaylene Gilstrap, Jaedyn Rucker and McCallum added a quartet of 9.8s to the Red Rocks tally with their routines. Paulson and McCallum both tallied scores of 9.875 while Gilstrap and Rucker added a pair of back-to-back 9.850 scores.
 
Utah reclaimed the third spot after the floor rotation, posting a 49.350. The Red Rocks held a slim lead over LSU, 147.575-147.500. Oklahoma maintained the lead after three rotations, posting a score of 148.425. UCLA followed in second with 148.850.

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Camie Wingeropened the Utah vault lineup with a big score of 9.950. With this score, Winger earned a tie for first amongst the field for her first career win as a Red Rock. Makenna Smith added the second 9.9 of the rotation for Utah, scoring a 9.925, finishing tied for third.
 
Smith was the top all-around finisher for the Red Rocks on Saturday afternoon. She tallied a 39.450 overall score through the four events, posting her highest score of the day on vault with a 9.925. Smith hit the 9.9 mark twice on the day, adding a 9.900 with her floor routine.  She would go on to add a 9.875 on beam and a 9.750 on bars.
 
Utah will stay local and return to the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah, to compete in the Rio Tinto Best of Utah. The Red Rocks are set to take on BYU, Southern Utah and Utah State at 4 p.m. MT on Monday, Jan. 15.

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