By Brianna Huffmaster (@bhuffmaster2024) – Spear Reporter
SJSU gymnastics team huddling up in between events | Photo by Christian Vieyra – The Spear
San Jose State gymnastics competed in the inaugural Mountain West Championship meet on Saturday night in Logan, Utah. It was a quad meet with Utah State, Air Force and Boise State. The Spartans finished third with a final score of 196.400.
Boise State finished on top with a final score of 196.550, which was only a 0.15 difference from SJSU. It was a very competitive meet, as a 0.1 point difference helped Utah State finish second.
“We had great routines on every event,” SJSU head coach Joanne Bowers said. “This team continues to fight all the time and they give us everything that we ask of them. I am so proud of them.”
The team shined on the beam and scored a new school record of 49.400. Marissa Ashton scored a career high of 9.925 and tied for second place. Lauren Macpherson and Jada Mazury both scored 9.900.
On floor, Mia Nelson led the Spartans with a score of 9.900, which tied for first place. Mazury was the second-highest scorer for the team and her score of 9.850 tied with four other gymnasts.
Not only did Nelson lead on floor, but she also tied for first on vault. This time her score was 9.825. Macpherson had a score of 9.800, while Madison Kirsch and Jaudai Lopes weren’t far behind with identical scores of 9.775.
Ashton and Nelson are both freshmen and finished on top for the Spartans in three out of the four events.
On uneven bars, Katherine Weyhmiller was the Spartans’ highest scorer with a 9.875. Weyhmiller finished in a three-way tie for second place. Other contributors on the bars were Mazury (9.850), Sophia Konieczny (9.775), Macpherson (9.775), and Lopes (9.750).
All of the event scores were very close between all four schools. Multiple ties occurred and the Spartans competed at a high-level throughout the meet.
The championship meet also included a postgame ceremony for ‘Specialist of the Year’ awards. The winners for these honors are based on overall consistent performance for each event throughout the season. Three Spartan gymnasts received honors – Lopes for vault, Mazury for floor, and Macpherson for beam.
SJSU gymnastics will be waiting for its name to be called on March 25 for NCAA Regional selections. The team will have a week to prepare for Regionals on April 3-6.