Pac-12 Championship Evening 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 heading 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 Pac-12 titles since the conference transitioned from the Pac-10.

How to Watch

Preview

• No. 4 UCLA | 197.940 NQS | 198.275 season high
• No. 5 Utah | 197.845 NQS | 198.550 season high
• No. 7 California | 197.765 NQS | 198.275 season high
• No. 11 Oregon State | 197.490 NQS | 198.075 season high

If you can only watch one meet, here’s why it should be this one… The only conference to have four teams hit 198 this season, and all four tie for the regular season championship, the Pac-12 evening session should be the highlight meet of conference weekend. The Golden Bears and Bruins are coming off matching season-highs last weekend, the Beavers pulled off the upset to be crowned co-champions, and the Utes own the second-highest total in the country this year, making it impossible to pick a favorite for the title.

If this is one of many meets you’ll be watching, don’t miss this… Beam is the standout event of the conference, as the Utes rank first in the country but are followed closely by session-mates Oregon State at third, UCLA at fifth, and California in sixth. But, behind a 10 from Mya Lauzon, the Golden Bears matched the highest event total of the year on any event with a 49.825 on beam last weekend, threatening the reign of the Maile O’Keefe-led Red Rocks. The NCAA’s top two ranked all-arounders, Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles, will do battle, both doing their best gymnastics of the season right now.

What’s the bigger picture to keep an eye on? While all four teams will be seeded at regionals, their seed lines aren’t set in stone. UCLA jumped Utah this week to nab the final No. 1 slot, pushing the Utes to a two-seed alongside the Golden Bears. The Beavers are sitting on the three-line currently, but a rough championship could see them drop to a four.

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.