One wouldn’t think Guns N’ Roses and Red Hot Chili Peppers would be necessary to prepare gymnasts for meets, but West Virginia head coach Jason Butts isn’t one to do things the conventional way.
Butts knew the crowd in Baton Rouge would be like nothing his team had seen this season, so he did his best to make sure they were prepared. That preparation paid off as No. 35 West Virginia tallied a strong 196.450 against No. 6 LSU, a score that improved its NQS heading into a double meet weekend. The score was also the highest team score against an SEC opponent in program history and the second highest road score of the season.
The Mountaineers started out the meet with a season high 49.025 on bars, led by Kianna Yancey and Emily Holmes-Hackerd with 9.850s. Yancey’s momentum continued heading into vault as she led the Mountaineers to a 49.075. During their first two rotations, Haleigh Bryant scored back to back 10s, leaving the Mountaineers having to drown out the crowd noise. Luckily, Butts had prepared them in the best way he knew.
“I have this obnoxious crowd noise music. It’s got Guns N’ Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and then I mixed in some smooth jazz just to really get on [the team’s] nerves. We blared it as loud as it could go in the gym to get them ready,” Butts explained post meet.
The crowd noise preparation worked in the Mountaineers’ favor as they headed to their best event, floor exercise. The PMAC floor has a reputation for being bouncier than most, something else Butts trained his team for in practice this week. The training and focus on technique was visible in scoring as West Virginia tallied a 49.350, led by Kiana Lewis and Holmes-Hackerd.
Beam was where Butts’ unconventional preparation paid off. As the Tigers hit one floor routine after another, the arena got louder. The Mountaineers went 49.000 and hit 24 for 24, along with every exhibition. Even when Bryant scored her third 10 of the night on floor during Carlee Nelson’s flight series on beam, she wasn’t phased. Coming off the beam, she only had one thing to say to Butts.
“She said I hate that music, but thank you for doing that to me,” Butts recalled with a laugh. “I think the prep worked.”
Heading into a meet with Rutgers on Sunday, the Mountaineers sit on the bubble of making it into the postseason and need another 196-plus to improve their NQS. Butts knows his team is tired and looking forward to enjoying spring break after the double this weekend, but they also know they have a job to do.
“We’ve had some adversity earlier on this year, and this team has just dug deep [throughout] the second half of season,” he said. “Their attitude has been amazing. This is definitely one of my favorite teams I’ve ever worked with.”
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Article by Savanna Whitten
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