ATHENS, Ga. - April 24 - Southern Utah's Elise Wheeler finished with an all-around total of 39.150 to place 13th in the competition in her first ever appearance at the NCAA National Championships on Thursday night. Wheeler missed out on a spot to advance to the finals on Saturday night, but scored a 9.700 or higher on each event during the evening to set the stage for next year.

"Elise could not have represented our university, our town and our team any better tonight," head coach Scott Bauman said after the meet. "She looked amazing all night and looked really good following the girls from Georgia."

Wheeler rotated with the host-team, Georgia, throughout the meet with the Gym Dogs finishing first overall with a team score of 197.625, advancing to the finals as a team on Saturday.

Wheeler finished the meet with scores of 9.800 on vault, 9.850 on the uneven bars, 9.700 on balance beam and a 9.800 on the floor exercise. Her performance marked only the third time that a member of Southern Utah's squad has qualified for the national competition.

The Flippin' Birds will look to qualify as a team next year with the added experience of qualifying as a team to the NCAA Regional meet, finishing the year ranked No. 27 in the nation.