CEDAR CITY, Utah – Hosting regional foe Boise State in the season’s home finale, the No. 21 ranked SUU gymnastics team recorded a new season-high score in a 196.900-196.300 victory.

Niya Randolph took the meet all-around title for the Flippin’ Birds, recording a 39.450 score. Senior Ellie Cacciola totaled the top score on vault in her final home meet, notching a 9.875.

First rotation – vault

Southern Utah began the night on vault, recording a season-high vault score of 49.200. Cacciola set the tone, starting with a 9.875. Mackenzie Kelly followed with a solid 9.850, before Mia Hampton totaled a 9.800. Randolph and Brinlee Christensen followed with scores of 9.850 and 9.825 respectively, and Taylor Gull closed out the rotation with 9.650.

Second rotation – uneven bars

The T-birds moved to the bars for the second rotation, totaling a 49.250 score. Randolph got things started with 9.875, which was followed by a 9.825 from Isabella Neff. Maria Ferguson followed with a 9.900, before a fall from Alex Routsis resulted in an 8.925. Christensen got SUU back on track as the last bars competitor, notching a 9.850.

Third rotation – balance beam

SUU moved to the beam next, recording a new season-best score of 49.100. Randolph began with a 9.800, which Christensen followed with a 9.775. A 9.850 from Elliot Bringhurst followed, before Cacciola and Rylee Miller each recorded 9.825 scores. Ferguson capped the rotation with a 9.800 as the team moved to the last event of the meet.

Final rotation – floor exercise

The Flippin’ Birds ended the night on floor, recording another new season-high score (49.350). Hampton began with a 9.825, and Alyssa Fernandez followed with a 9.800. Christensen then earned a 9.850 before Randolph matched a career-high with a 9.925. Cacciola capped her career at the AFEC with a 9.900, and fellow senior Gull followed with a 9.850.

Once the scores were finalized, the Thunderbirds emerged with a new season-high score while securing a 196.900-196.300 victory.

Assistant coach Jamie Wysong post meet

Up next

Southern Utah travels to Boise on Friday, March 14, for a rematch with the Broncos in the regular season finale.

The meet is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. MT and can be seen on the Mountain West Network.

Photo courtesy of SUU Athletics. 

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Spencer Rodak
Spencer has always been passionate about sports, growing up playing and following various sports. He ran cross country in high school and began his journey in sports media in 2017 as a journalism intern at The Spectrum & Daily News. Since then, his work has been published in numerous outlets including Deseret News, Standard-Examiner, St. George News, Southern Utah Now, SUU's Thunderground, SB Nation's RSL Soapbox, FanSided's Venom Strikes, fan-insider.com, The Spurs Web, and Iron County Today. Spencer is the founder of Stadium Sportzz and both the Sportzz with Spencer and Mountain States Sports Report podcasts. His experience extends to public address announcing, having first served as the PA announcer for Southern Utah University soccer in 2017 and as a high school sports PA announcer. He is now entering his fourth year as a PA announcer at Utah Tech University, where he also occasionally takes on the role of in-game emcee. Spencer's versatility also extends to radio, where at The Fan Sports Network he produced high school and Utah Tech athletics broadcasts, hosted the weekly Region 9 Football Tailgate Show, and appeared daily on The Drive. Now working towards completing his Bachelor's degree in Media Studies, Spencer was recently named the Sports Director at Utah Tech University's 91.3 The Blaze for the 2024-25 year. He will host a weekly show and serve as a play-by-play broadcaster, continuing his dedication to sports journalism and broadcasting. When he isn’t talking, writing about, or watching sports, Spencer enjoys traveling and spending time with his amazing wife.

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