Utah State holds off Boise State to claim first-ever Mountain West gymnastics title

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A year after Boise State claimed the inaugural Mountain West championship on their home floor — edging the host school for the title by 0.050 points — Utah State got its revenge a year later.

The Aggies used a strong showing on uneven bars in the third rotation to lift the team past Boise State and the rest of the field to claim its first Mountain West title with a 196.100 score at the Provident Credit Union Events Center in San Jose, California.

Boise State finished in second with a 195.950 score, followed by host San Jose State (195.350) and Air Force (195.150).

"Incredibly proud of this team," Aggies head coach Kristin White said. "We bought into the PZF (Prepare. Zealous. Finish) mentality, and it paid off. The women deserve this. They have battled all year long and tonight it became a reality. Thank you to our staff and fans for your loyal dedication to this team. The future is bright for Utah State."

The Aggies were locked in a tight battle early on with San Jose State, sharing a lead after the first rotation before the Spartans took a narrow lead in the second. But the Utah State bars team put on a show in the third to shift the momentum.

Following a stumble by sophomore Sydney Jelen in the second spot, in which she scored a 9.50, the Aggies couldn't afford for any more mistakes. But Lundyn VanderToolen and Avery Bibbey stepped up and hit back-to-back 9.25 routines to get things back in order.

And then Brianna Brooks delivered for the Aggies with a season-high 9.90 score in the fifth spot to lead all scores. For good measure, Dani Kirstine added a 9.875 routine in the anchor to lift the Aggies to a then-meet high 49.200 score on bars.

The effort was enough to push Utah State into the lead.

But for all the good done leading up to the final rotation, Utah State needed to do just enough to avoid a late comeback by one of the other teams. And Boise State was poised for such a comeback.

The Broncos did enough on bars to vault the team up the leaderboard with an event-high 49.225, putting pressure on the Aggies on beam.

But unlike the year before, Boise State had to be the one to watch another team lift the conference trophy in the end. Utah State finished beam with a 48.950 score, with Jelen and Brooks leading the charge with 9.850 scores, to maintain the lead and championship.

The Aggies will now await a NCAA regionals destination on Monday.

Team scores

Utah State

• Floor: 49.050
• Vault: 97.950 (48.900)
• Bars: 147.150 (49.200)
• Beam: 196.100 (48.950)

San Jose State

• Vault: 49.050
• Bars: 98.025 (48.975)
• Beam: 147.075 (49.050)
• Floor: 195.350 (48.275)

Air Force

• Bars: 48.775
• Beam: 97.725 (48.950)
• Floor: 146.375 (48.650)
• Vault: 195.150 (48.775)

Boise State

• Beam: 48.775
• Floor: 97.875 (49.100)
• Vault: 146.725 (48.850)
• Bars: 195.950 (49.225)

Utah State scores

1st Rotation: Floor (49.050)

• Jenna Eagles: 9.775
• Angel Stuart: 9.750
• Olivia Orengo: 9.800
• Kaylie Medrano: 9.775
• Isabella Vater: 9.850
• Marley Peterson: 9.850

2nd Rotation: Vault (48.900)

• Lundyn VanderToolen: 9.800
• Brianna Brooks: 9.750
• Payton Gatzlaff: 9.800
• Kaylie Medrano: 9.800
• Jenna Eagles: 9.750
• Olivia Orengo: 9.725

3rd Rotation: Bars (49.200)

• Olivia Orengo: 9.775
• Sydney Jelen: 9.500
• Lundyn VanderToolen: 9.825
• Avery Bibbey: 9.825
• Brianna Brooks: 9.900
• Dani Kirstine: 9.875

4th Rotation: Beam (48.950)

• Sydney Jelen: 9.850
• Jenna Eagles: 9.725
• Olivia Orengo: 9.750
• Kaylie Medrano: 9.750
• Brianna Brooks: 9.850
• Isabella Vater: 9.750

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