Pac-12 Championship Afternoon Session

Recap

The Big Storyline: In a meet that came down to the final routines, Utah came out on top of a battle between four programs that all tied for the regular season title. All-around winner Jade Carey had the Beavers on top at the halfway point before vault squandered their lead, making room for the Utes and Bruins to surge into the top two. The last rotation saw California post the highest event total of the night on beam (49.625) to nab a close third while Ute Abby Brenner stuck her vault to help Utah hold onto the lead despite a strong 49.600 on floor from UCLA—led by one of two 9.975s on the evening from Jordan Chiles.

Postseason Implications: With all eight programs already locked into regionals, this championship only had implications on seeding. UCLA, Utah, and California secured the four, five, and seven seeds, respectively, while Arizona State clinched the 14-seed. Stanford, Arizona, and Washington will all be unseeded headed into regionals.

Records: The Golden Bears’ posted their highest total in Pac-12 championship meet history, while the Utes became the first program to win three-straight meet titles after the conference transitioned from the Pac-10.

How to Watch

Preview

• No. 14 Arizona State | 197.105 NQS | 197.725 season high
• No. 19 Stanford | 196.930 NQS | 197.575 season high
• No. 27 Washington | 196.585 NQS | 197.250 season high
• No. 29 Arizona | 196.570 NQS | 197.275 season high

If you can only watch one meet, here’s why it should be this one… The Pac-12 has been one of the most competitive conferences this season, with every team posting a season-high in the 197s and boasting individuals capable of reaching the podium despite competing in the afternoon session. With all four of these schools already a lock for the postseason, they’ll be giving it their all in hopes of an upset title and momentum for regionals.

If this is one of many meets you’ll be watching, don’t miss this… Each of these schools boasts an impressive all-arounder who’s capable of an explosive score or two that could launch them to an event title. Arizona State’s Hannah Scharf has earned 9.975 on bars, Malia Hargrove has done the same on vault for Arizona, Stanford’s Chloe Widner notched a near-perfect beam set just last weekend, and Washington two-event star Amara Cunningham reached a 9.975 career-high on floor. Looking better than they did in 2022 when they were a part of the regular-season co-championship, don’t be surprised if the Sun Devils finish in the top four.

What’s the bigger picture to keep an eye on? While each school knows they’ll compete at regionals, they’re in important fights for seeding and positioning. Arizona State is trying to maintain a spot among the top 16 while Stanford is on the outside looking in. As some of the lower-ranked regionals teams, Washington and Arizona need good totals to, hopefully, avoid the first-round duals.

By the Numbers

Past Champions

• UCLA: 19 titles, last won in 2019
• Oregon State: 6 titles, last won in 2013
• Utah: 5 titles, last won in 2022
• Stanford: 5 titles, last won in 2008

Records Watch

• Team: 198.400 (UCLA, 2019) | Vault: 49.675 (Utah, 2015) | Bars: 49.675 (Oregon State, 2013) | Beam: 49.675 (Utah, 2021) | Floor: 49.775 (UCLA, 2019)
• All Around: 39.825 (Richardson, UCLA, 2004) | Vault: 10.000 (Basaldua, Arizona, 1992) | Bars: 10.000 (Fenton, UCLA, 1993) | Beam: 10.000 (Ross, UCLA, 2017) | Floor: 10.000 (Brinkman, Arizona State, 1992)

Last Time Out

After sharing the regular season title with Arizona State, California, and Oregon State, Utah cruised to victory in the conference championship meet with a 198.000 to defeat the runner-up Golden Bears by over half a point. Jade Carey’s all-around win helped the Beavers round out the podium while Grace McCallum’s perfect bars set highlighted the Red Rocks’ championship.