Southern Utah University’s women’s gymnastics team finished its regular season on March 13, falling to Boise State with a score of 196.275-195.850 in Boise, Idaho. The Flippin’ Birds will now prepare for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference championship meet next week in Cedar City.
The upcoming conference championship is significant for Southern Utah, as the team remains undefeated against MPSF opponents this season and aims to secure its fourth consecutive conference title at home on March 21.
Junior Niya Randolph led the Thunderbirds by winning first place in both the all-around and floor events. Sophomore Sage Paladino and freshman Berlin Hall tied for second place on floor with scores of 9.900 each. Three gymnasts from Southern Utah tied for third on bars, each scoring 9.875. Senior Kayla Pardue achieved the top vault score with a 9.900, while junior Elliot Bringhurst placed third in that event with a 9.800.
Head Coach Scotty Bauman said, “There were a lot of positives tonight, especially the way we attacked the floor and the consistency we showed early in the meet. Niya had another tremendous night, and it was great to see some big scores across the lineup. Beam is an event we know we’re capable of hitting, and we’ll get back in the gym and clean that up as we prepare for the conference championship next week.”
During the meet’s opening rotation on bars, junior Alex Routsis started strong with a score of 9.875, matched by Randolph later in the lineup. On vault, Pardue contributed a leading score of 9.900 while Bringhurst added a consistent performance with her own high mark.
On floor exercise, Hampton opened with a routine scoring 9.850 before Paladino set a new personal best at 9.900 and Hall continued her streak with another 9.900; Randolph topped off the rotation with a team-leading 9.925.
The Thunderbirds closed out their competition on beam but faced challenges that resulted in their second-lowest event score of the season at 48.450.
Looking ahead to next week’s MPSF Championships at home, Southern Utah will seek to maintain its unbeaten record within conference play.
