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SALT LAKE CITY — In the end, the final score didn't matter.
As Avery Neff neared the end of her final tumbling pass on floor in an otherwise stellar night for the freshman gymnast, her feet gave out and she immediately fell to her face on the mat. The South Jordan native grabbed her ankle as medical personnel and coaches immediately swarmed her.
In an instant, the always energetic Huntsman Center crowd was stunned and left silent.
The No. 1 recruit was down and out. Several Red Rocks gymnasts were seen crying near the mat as others offered hugs in an immediate show of support and sadness.
But nothing could change the fact that a promising season was likely cut short.
Neff was carried off the floor and into the Huntsman Center tunnel, with her parents following shortly after. Her status, though, remains unknown in the immediate aftermath, with head coach Carly Dockendorf saying "at this time we don't know, we don't have any answers on Avery."
Jaylene Gilstrap had the most difficult task, and that was following Neff on floor after an emotional moment. And the veteran gymnast delivered with her lyrical routine that got a 9.90 score before Grace McCallum closed out the meet with a 9.90 score of her own.
"We still had to finish the meet, and I thought they did a really good job of keeping their composure and still stepping up and finishing the way that they wanted to," Dockendorf said.
The Red Rocks finished the night with a 197.300 — the first score over 197 this season — to dominate Iowa State, who finished the night with a 194.850, in a lopsided Big 12 meet.
It was a night of progress and growth for the Red Rocks, especially coming off a less-than-stellar outing at the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad meet, but one that felt empty given the Neff injury.
"I'm definitely sitting here with a mixture of emotions right now," Dockendorf said. "What an amazing three quarters of our meet there, and was just feeling so good about everything we had done. I mean, this is the tough part about sports anywhere on any team, and it's just — it's hard to watch. It definitely kind of changed the emotional feeling of the meet at the end, but this is why we're a team."
The Red Rocks opened up the night with a strong showing on vault, building on what has been a tough event for the team so far this season. Ella Zirbes led off with a 9.80 score, Camie Winger upped the scores with a 9.875 and then Neff hit a team-high 9.90.
Grace McCallum returned to a 10.0 start value Friday night with a Yurchenko 1.5, which is the first time she's thrown the trick on vault since she got injured two seasons ago. She side stepped on the landing, resulting in a 9.750 score, but it was important for her to finally land it.
"A huge moment tonight, because that's the first time she's competed that since she hurt her knee a few years ago. ... She took a step to the side, but for her to go out there, I know she was really proud of herself, and we were just so proud to see her back out there doing it again," Dockendorf said.
The team finished with a season-high 49.300 on vault, taking an immediate big lead over Iowa State, who struggled out the gate on bars. The Cyclones scored a team-high 9.775 to finish with a 47.925, but were forced to count several low scores.
From there, it was all Red Rocks Friday night, with McCallum scoring a 9.975 on bars for the second straight meet.
Team scores
No. 4 Utah
- Vault: 49.300
- Bars: 98.675 (49.375)
- Beam: 148.025 (49.350)
- Floor: 197.300 (49.275)
Iowa State
- Bars: 47.925
- Vault: 96.775 (48.850)
- Floor: 145.775 (49.000)
- Beam: 194.850 (49.025)
Red Rocks scores
1st Rotation: Vault (49.300)
- Ella Zirbes: 9.800
- Grace McCallum: 9.750
- Camie Winger: 9.875
- Avery Neff: 9.900
- Makenna Smith: 9.850
- Ashley Glynn: 9.875
2nd Rotation: Bars (49.375)
- Makenna Smith: 9.825
- Clara Raposo: 9.775
- Ashley Glynn: 9.900
- Avery Neff: 9.850
- Amelie Morgan: 9.825
- Grace McCallum: 9.975
- EX: Camie Winger: 9.800
3rd Rotation: Beam (49.350)
- Ana Padurarui: 9.850
- Camie Winger: 9.900
- Makenna Smith: 9.700
- Avery Neff: 9.925
- Amelie Morgan: 9.800
- Grace McCallum: 9.850
4th Rotation: Floor (49.275)
- Ella Zirbes: 9.725
- Ashley Glynn: 9.850
- Makenna Smith: 9.900
- Avery Neff: 9.350
- Jaylene Gilstrap: 9.900
- Grace McCallum: 9.900
