Utah wins 2nd straight Big 12 championship, Avery Neff claims all-around title

Another day, another conference championship.

Utah’s gymnastics team is really good at winning conference titles and added another trophy to its case Saturday as its championship streak in the Big 12 moved to two in a row since joining the league.

While this title wasn’t the easiest to win, it seemed fitting to be part of a season that hasn’t been the easiest for the Red Rocks either.

Final results saw No. 12 Utah on top with a 197.675, followed by No. 23 Denver at 196.575, No. 24 BYU with 196.175 and Arizona at 194.725 in the second session.

“Super proud of this team tonight. Winning the conference championships is not something you could take for granted, and this team fought the entire night to stay in the meet,” said Red Rocks coach Carly Dockendorf.

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Utah opened the meet with a 49.375 on vault, which was a solid foundation to build from. Makenna Smith led the way on the event, as she hammered home a beautiful stuck vault to record a 9.95 that eventually earned her the event title.

Unlike recent meets, the Red Rocks were unable to carry over momentum and fell a bit flat on bars (49.05), which is usually one of their best events.

The judges weren’t much help either in what proved a tightly scored event all night. It wasn’t a bad rotation, but Avery Neff was the only Utah gymnast to go 9.9 or higher, while stalwart Ana Padurariu fell and didn’t finish.

“(Padurariu) is fine,” Dockendorf said. “I think it was the adrenaline, the lights and the noise, and there was no point in her finishing it because she was a little bit lightheaded, but she’s fine.”

Meanwhile, Denver put together a strong floor set to catapult from third to first after two rotations. The Pioneers led the Red Rocks 98.475-98.425 with Utah rotating to beam.

For the Red Rocks, beam has been up and down this season with recent meets not finding the usual success. But that didn’t happen Saturday as Utah strung together a beautiful set that earned it a 49.525 to take back and build out a strong lead at 147.95-147.475.

The beam set was a pressure set considering the Red Rocks were behind and they were without Padurariu. Neff and Camie Winger highlighted the set, with Neff recording a 9.925 before Winger hit a stunning routine for a 9.975 in the anchor position after all of her teammates hit.

The score earned her a beam title.

“I was just kind of like, ‘OK, there’s not really that much pressure. Everyone did their job and now it’s just time for me to do mine,’ and I just went out there and just did the best I could,” Winger said.

Utah rolled from there, finishing up floor with a 49.725, which proved their second-best event total of the season (the best was a 49.75 on bars).

No score below 9.9 counted, and that was Zoe Johnson’s, who returned to her routine from last season and hit after Ashley Glynn fell in the leadoff spot.

Utah didn’t balk at the fall, and after Johnson, Neff tallied a 9.975, while Ella Zirbes, Smith and Sage Curtis added 9.95s.

Floor has been a roller coaster for Utah this season, with some big wins and some lower team scores.

“That’s the confidence we definitely needed on floor. Like, we can do anything we put our mind to on floor, and we are all that good on floor,” Neff said. “There’s no reason to be doubting ourselves, really on any event.”

Neff finished the night by winning the all-around, bars and floor.

BYU

The Cougars did not get the start they wanted, sitting in fourth after bars and beam to start the meet, but they posted their second-best floor set of the season with a 49.475 and finished strong on vault at 49.025 to move into third.

Scarlett Sonnenberg (9.925) and Daisy Stephenson (9.925) hit career-bests, while Brynlee Andersen-Broekman tied hers at 9.9 in the first half of BYU’s floor lineup.

Sonnenberg’s effort helped her tie for second overall on the event, and Andersen-Broekman also added a 9.9 on beam to lead BYU.

“I saw on bars and beam there was just a lot of fight,” said BYU coach Guard Young. “They weren’t giving up, but it just wasn’t flowing and we needed to turn that fight and grit into fire.

“That’s what I told them in the huddle, and then it was a floor party, and you know, a great end.”

Big 12 awards

Neff was named Big 12 Gymnast of the Year, while Padurariu earned Event Specialist of the Year. Both have been dominant in events this season, pushing each other to big scores.

Denver’s Shyla Bhatia is Newcomer of the Year, and Arizona’s Gianna Lenczner is Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

BYU’s Young was recognized as Coach of the Year.

“It’s just a tremendous honor because that’s a voting thing from your peers,” Young said. “It’s an award that’s not a head coaches award but a coaching staff award, so I couldn’t do it without Natalie (Broekman) and Brogan (Evanson).

“They’ve been by my side for 11 years now. The support staff and BYU administration have all been great, and new coach McKenna Giles (who competed collegiately at Utah) has been such a great addition.”

Team finishes

First — Utah; 197.675.

Second — Denver; 196.575.

Third — BYU; 196.175.

Fourth — Arizona State; 195.225.

Fifth — Arizona; 194.725.

Sixth — West Virginia; 194.250.

Event winners

All-Around — Avery Neff (Utah); 39.70.

Vault — Makenna Smith (Utah); 9.95.

Bars — Avery Neff (Utah); 9.9.

Beam — Camie Winger (Utah); 9.975.

Floor — Avery Neff (Utah); 9.975.

Next up

The Red Rocks and Cougars, along with other qualifiers, will find out their regional destinations Monday, with regional competitions beginning April 1.