Utah Gymnastics Set for 2024 NCAA Championships

MEET WEEK
Utah Gymnastics is set to compete for a national championship beginning Thursday, Apr. 18, in the evening semifinal of the 2024 NCAA Championships. Utah competes at 7 p.m. MT against top-ranked Oklahoma, #4 Florida, and #6 Alabama in its semifinal at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. The first semifinal at 1 p.m. MT on Thursday features #2 LSU, #3 California, #7 Arkansas, and #8 Stanford. The top-two teams from each semifinal will advance to the NCAA Championship final on Saturday, Apr. 20. The competition for the NCAA title will begin at 2 p.m. MT on Saturday.

TIME TO TUNE IN

The two semifinal competitions on Thursday will be aired on ESPN2, while Saturday’s NCAA final will be televised on ABC. John Roethlesberger and Aly Raisman will serve as the talent, and will be joined by Taylor Davis as the reporter. There will be a live pre-show for the NCAA Championship on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. MT as well. 

Along with the main broadcast for the NCAA Championships, ESPN will also provide individual apparatus streams on ESPN+ for both the semifinals and championship. Sam Peszek and Bridget Sloan will commentate the  vault and bars streams, with Kennedy Baker and Anastasia Webb covering bars and floor. Utah fans can also tune into ESPN 700 Radio during the Red Rocks’ competition to hear live commentary from Mike Lageschulte and former Ute All-American Kyndal (Robarts) Pond.

IN THE RANKINGS

Utah heads to the NCAA tournament ranked fifth in the nation. The Utes currently own a National Qualifying Score of 197.895, coming off their third meet of the season that saw the Red Rocks post a score of 198 or better. After jumping up to the No. 2 spot after the first week of the season, Utah has never dropped outside of the top five of the national rankings, while remaining in the top 20 in each event.

Typically, one of the nation’s top beam teams, Utah has now added a Red Rocks party on the floor, ranking fourth in the nation and never dropping outside the top eight in the event throughout the season. Utah has scored above 49.500 on floor in 10 competitions this season, hitting their season-high mark of 49.700 in three meets, including going back-to-back in the Stanford/Utah State tri-meet and most recently at the Pac-12 Championships. The Utah beam squad currently ranks fifth in the nation, and has remained a top-five lineup throughout the season. The Red Rocks beam squad as posted scores of 49.500 or better in four competitions this season. Jumping up one spot, the bars lineup now ranks sixth in the nation, hitting the 49.500 mark for the fifth time at the Pac-12 Championships. On vault, the Red Rocks remain consistent ranking seventh in the nation for the second week in a row.

QUICK STICKS

• Utah has advanced to a record 48th-consecutive national championship.

• Utah is the only program in the nation to qualify for every national championship.

• Utah has won 34 regional titles (31 NCAA) and finished second the other 13 years.

• Grace McCallum leads the team with 19 event wins on the season for the Red Rocks. 

• Utah hit the 198-mark for the third time this season at the Pac-12 Championships.

AWARD SEASON

• Abby Paulson earned the Gainesville Regional Beam title, while Jaylene Gilstrap collected the regional title on floor. It was the first set of regional crowns for either Red Rock.

• Six Utes earned All-Pac-12 Honors at the conclusion of the regular season. 

• Trio of Red Rocks named to WCGA regular season All-America list

• Maile O’Keefe claimed a pair of first team Pac-12 distinctions on beam and floor. She would add WCGA All-American to her list of honors.

• Grace McCallum secured Pac-12 first-team honors on bars and floor. Adding two more awards at the conclusion of the regular season, McCallum secured all-america nods on both bars and floor, taking her regular season all-america count up to five.

• Abby Paulson tallied first team regular season WCGA All-America honors for the third time in her career.

• Jaedyn Rucker notched a first-team All-Pac-12 honor on vault, with Abby Paulson earning first team honors on beam.

• Makenna Smith collected her first all-conference nod of her career, with a first-team designation in the all-around.

CHALK TALK

• The Red Rocks have hit 317 of 335 routines throughout the 2024 season.

• Utah finished the 2024 home slate undefeated, going 6-0 in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. It is the fifth year in a row the Red Rocks have gone undefeated at home and the 11th undefeated home season in the last 12 years.

• Utah has four individuals in the top 25 of separate events including; Maile O’Keefe (2nd/beam, T20/floor), Abby Paulson (T6/beam), and Grace McCallum (T10/bars, T14/floor) and Jaedyn Rucker (t21/vault).

• Utah has seen multiple first career victories so far this season, with Ashley Glynn (vault) and Camie Winger (vault), and Amelie Morgan (bars, beam), Makenna Smith (bars), Ella Zirbes (vault), Jaylene Gilstrap (floor).

• McCallum’s 10 on floor was her first perfect score in the event and the first 10.0 on floor since MyKayla Skinner’s at the 2019 Pac-12 Championships.

 

STANDOUT STATS

•  Utah has five gymnasts that have hit every routine throughout the season, Elizabeth Gantner (8-8), Ashley Glynn (14-14), Abby Paulson (30-30), Makenna Smith (53-53), Camie Winger (19-19).

• Utah has eclipsed the 49-point mark in 13 of 14 events so far during the 2024 campaign. 

• Utah owns an overall record of 322-138-5 in the national championships.

• The Red Rocks are a combined 86-68-1 against their session opponents, consisting of Oklahoma (30-17), Florida (33-21-1) and Alabama (23-30).