The BYU women’s gymnastics team earned a second-place finish in its final Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference Championship with a score of 196.575. No. 21 Southern Utah took home the crown for the first time in program history with a 196.875 at the America First Event Center.

The Boise State Broncos took third with a 196.000 and the Utah State Aggies rounded out the competition with a team score of 195.825. Senior beam captain Elease Rollins took home the highest score of the night with a 9.975 on the balance beam.

BYU opened its final MRGC Championship with six scores above 9.800 on floor. Sophomore Eliza Millar’s energetic floor routine started the night off strong for the Cougars with a score of 9.800. She was followed by a pair of 9.825s from Sydney Benson and Heidi Schooley. Sophie Dudley and Rollins both added 9.850s individually with Rebekah Ripley rounding out the first rotation with a team-high 9.875.

BYU soared on vault in the second rotation. Freshman Madison Raesly-Patton started with a 9.800 for the Cougars, followed by a 9.850 from Benson. With a 9.875 by freshman Kylie Eaquinto, BYU ended with a team vault score of 49.050.

The Cougars continued their momentum on the uneven bars in the third rotation. Allix Mason and Benson started off with a pair 9.800s, followed by a 9.875 from Eaquinto to tie her career high on the apparatus. Anna Bramblett finished with a 9.850 as the Cougars ended with a team bars score of 49.125.

The Cougars ended the night on the balance beam. Raesly-Patton got things started for BYU with a 9.800, followed by a 9.850 from sophomore Mina Margraf. Rollins tied her career high on the beam with a 9.975 to complete a team beam score of 49.175, BYU ended the night with a 196.575 for a second-place finish.

After the meet, the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference honored the top gymnasts in each event for the year.

Rollins earned MRGC Beam Specialist of the Year for the second year in a row, with a final NQS score of 9.910. Benson shared Co-Vault Specialist of the Year honors with Boise State’s Emily Lopez after receiving an NQS score of 9.865.

Eaquinto was named to the MRGC First Team for Vault after scoring above a 9.8 on the apparatus in all but one meet this season. She was also named MRGC Freshman of the Year after competing on the vault and uneven bars in every meet.

As the BYU bars captain, Alvarado was named to the MRGC Second Team on Bars after receiving scores above 9.800 in every meet of the 2023 season.

With the conference championships finished, BYU awaits details about regionals.

BYU softball takes doubleheader from Idaho State

BYU softball swept Idaho State in its doubleheader home opener at Gail Miller Park on Saturday afternoon, beating the Bengals 10-1 in game one, at 12-0 in game two, both via the five inning run rule.

Pitcher Chloe Temples debuted in the circle for the first time in Provo this year, striking out seven batters, her second-most on the season. In game two, the Cougars scored a season-high eight runs in one inning, while Kaysen Korth fanned six Idaho State batters.

Next week, BYU is set to host Boise State on Tuesday, March 21 at 5 p.m. MDT, with live coverage on the BYUtv app.

Cougar tracks starts outdoor season strong

BYU men’s track and field opened its outdoor season on Saturday with event wins in the 400-meter hurdles, 3,000-meter steeplechase, javelin and discus throw at the Cardinal Classic.

“It was great to get outside in some really good weather and compete,” BYU sprints, hurdles and relays coach Kyle Grossarth said. “The athletes took advantage of that and ran well. They have been working really hard, and they came out and executed very well. I’m excited for what is to come this outdoor season.”

Spencer Carlile took first in the 400m hurdles among a field of 14 competitors, crossing the line at 51.95. The 2022 NCAA West Preliminary qualifier placed nearly a second ahead of runner-up Shareez Hamm from Academy of Art. Jace Jensen took third with a 53.06 performance.

In his first outdoor collegiate meet, James Corrigan bested all competition in the steeplechase with a time of 9:11.37, beating out two distance athletes from host Stanford. Garrett Stanford, a sophomore from Carlsbad, California, placed second in his first-ever outdoor event at BYU with a 9:16.68 time.

Cameron Bates placed first in the javelin with a 74.9m/245-9 mark. Freshman Brinton Paulson claimed third at 62.98m/206-7 in his debut performance at BYU.

In the discus throw, Dallin Shurts and Danny Bryant stood atop 27 total competitors with marks of 58.61m/192-3 and 52.60m/172-7, respectively. Shurts – currently No. 6 all-time at BYU in the discus – resumes right where he left off after concluding last season ranked No. 10 nationally. Bryant’s throw was a new personal best.

The Cougars continue their early stretch of the outdoor season with the Aztec Invitational starting next Thursday in San Diego, Calif.

BYU baseball loses two of three at LMU

BYU baseball lost an offensive slugfest, 10-9, to LMU on Saturday afternoon, dropping the three-game West Coast Conference series, 2-1, to the Lions at George Page Stadium.

The Cougars led 9-4 through six innings, but LMU scored a combined six runs in the seventh and eighth to come from behind for the win. LMU is now 9-9 (2-1) on the year, while BYU falls to 6-12 (1-2).

“I thought offensively we were great today,” said BYU head coach Trent Pratt. “We just need guys to step up in the backend of our bullpen and close out games. We have the guys that can get the job done. We need to keep working and help them believe they can do it.”

BYU returns home to play four games at Miller Park next week. The Cougars will take on Utah Valley in a midweek game on Tuesday, March 21 at Miller Park. BYU will then continue WCC play with a three-game series against Saint Mary’s, scheduled for March 23-15 in Provo.

All four games will be broadcast live on the BYU Radio App and BYU Radio 107.9 FM in the northern Utah market, with Greg Wrubell on the call. All four game will also air on the BYUtv App, with the Thursday game simulcast on BYUtv. Dave McCann and Gary Sheide will have the call on BYUtv.

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