COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – For the first time ever, a Mountain West champion in gymnastics will be crowned when Utah State hosts the inaugural MW Gymnastics Championship on Saturday, March 23, in Logan, Utah. The host Aggies will be joined by Air Force, Boise State and San José State with the meet beginning at 7 p.m. MT.
The competition will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network.
Air Force, opening on vault, enters the championship ranked No. 57 in the nation and led by freshman phenom Maggie Slife, winner of seven MW Freshman of the Week and five MW Gymnast of the Week honors. Slife leads the MW in the all-around with a National Qualifying Score (NQS) of 39.340, garnering first-team All-MW honors in the all-around along with first-team honors on vault and bars. Junior Ayla McKean and freshman Clara Wallace are other all-conference selection for the Falcons, earning second-team honors on the uneven bars and in the all-around, respectively.
Boise State, opening on bars, enters the championship as the highest-ranked team in the MW at No. 30 in the nation. The Broncos are led by senior Courtney Blackson, a member of three all-conference teams, including the first team on bars and floor and second team on vault. Fellow senior Emily Lopez earned first-team honors on bars and beam, while graduate senior Adriana Popp earned first-team All-MW accolades on beam and second-team honors on vault. Boise State juniors Emma Loyim and Elaina McGovern rounded out the all-conference honors for the Broncos, earning first-team and second-team honors on floor, respectively. Loyim also tacked on second-team honors on beam.
Championship-host Utah State enters the championship ranked No. 45 in the nation and will start on beam. The Aggies boast a trio of all-conference athletes, including senior Brianna Brooks, who collected second-team honors on both bars and in the all-around, while graduate senior Lexi Aragon earned second-team honors on beam. Graduate senior Alivia Ostendorf was the Aggies’ lone first-team selection, earning first-team honors on vault.
San José State, ranked No. 33 in the nation, begins the championship on floor and matched Boise State with a league-leading 10 all-conference honors. SJSU senior Lauren Macpherson earned first-team accolades in the all-around and on beam, while also earning second-team honors on floor. Another Spartan senior, Jaudai Lopes, equaled the three awards with first-team recognition on vault and in the all-around and second-team honors on floor. Graduate senior Jada Mazury picked up first-team honors on floor and second-team honors on bars. Senior Madison Kirsch and junior Katherine Weyhmiller rounded out the Spartans’ honorees with first-team accolades on vault and second-team accolades on beam, respectively.
Tickets for the 2024 MW Gymnastics Championship can still be purchased by contacting the USU ticket office by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or by going online to utahstateaggies.com.
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