Best of Utah

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Recap

The Big Storyline: Utah eclipsed 197 in its season opener to take down a trio of in-state foes to start off its year strong. Senior Cristal Isa claimed two event titles to lead the Red Rocks, who unfortunately didn’t escape the night without worry as freshman Kara Eaker was injured in vault warmups after starting off her night with strong beam and floor sets. Utah State’s Brie Clark stole the show with her floor routine that pulled in the highest score of the evening as the Aggies finished second, ahead of BYU who was without nine gymnasts due to COVID.

Implications: The Utes looked much improved on vault in their debut, an event that held them back at times in 2021. The debut of Utah’s highly anticipated freshman class started off on the right foot with beam and floor hits, but with Eaker’s injury and a fall from Grace McCallum on bars, the debut was ultimately bittersweet.

Records: Utah State’s team total is the highest season opening score in program history.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 4 Utah, No. 19 BYU, No. 25 Southern Utah and No. 26 Utah State

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: Utah’s in-state showdown will give us our first look at Pac-12 favorite Utah, MRGC favorite BYU, and two other MRGC contenders and closel ranked rivals in Southern Utah and Utah State. All eyes will be on the Red Rocks, as their trio of Olympic freshmen are expected to make their collegiate debuts in a season where Utah, once again, should challenge for the national title.

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: After competing in the all-around in its preview meet, Utah freshman Grace McCallum should make lineups on several events, but watch for her unique (and 10.0 start value) Yurchenko half-on tucked Barani vault. Fellow Olympians Kara Eaker and Amelie Morgan showed off lovely beam sets in the preview meet as well and should improve an already stellar lineup for the Utes on that event. Depth will be an asset for the Cougars, but pay attention to bars and floor where Anyssa Alvarado and Brittney Vitkauskas, respectively, will shine. Sofi Sullivan is set to return for Utah State after opting out last season, and Karley McClain is back as the top all-arounder for Southern Utah.