SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - March 12 - Southern Utah's gymnastics team scored a season-high 196.025, capturing a victory over Penn State in the process in a four-way meet between the Thunderbirds, Nittany Lions, University of Utah and Oregon State on Friday night. SUU's Elise Wheeler led the way with three 9.900's and one 9.800 to finish second in the all-around during the night.
Southern Utah began the night on beam, scoring a 48.625 with Wheeler (9.800) and Ari Lamb (9.775) finishing first and second for the Thunderbirds on the event. The marks left both gymnasts in the top ten of the individual rankings at the end of the meet.
SUU then moved to the floor exercise and scored a season-high 49.300 on the event with Wheeler and Shannon Coughlin pulling together a pair of 9.900's to finish tied for fifth place overall. Bailey Baker was just behind with a 9.875 as every T-Bird scored a 9.775 or higher on the event to move ahead of Penn State in the team standings.
Southern Utah's beam team continued to be strong, scoring a 49.000 to match or surpass the 49-point threshold for the second time this season. Wheeler was, once again, tops on the team with a 9.900 with Lindsey Schultz (9.825) and Melissa Johnson (9.800) following with marks in the 9.800's. Caitlin Kennedy (9.775) and Baker (9.700) rounded out the team scores for the Thunderbirds.
SUU finished the night on bars, scoring another season-high on the event with a team score of 49.100. Wheeler's final 9.900 of the night propelled her to a second-place finish in the all-around with the second-highest score in school history with a 39.500. True freshman, Alyssa Click followed Wheeler with a career-high 9.875 to finish fifth overall on bars during the meet. The team, as a whole, finished strong on the event as the unit recovered from a fall to finish the rotation five-of-five.
The University of Utah, ultimately, finished first at the meet, scoring a 196.975. The Utes were followed by Oregon State (196.650), Southern Utah (196.025) and Penn State (195.700).
SUU Gymnastics will be back in action next Friday when the Thunderbirds host Cal-State Fullerton in a Western Athletic Conference clash. The meet is scheduled to begin in the Centrum Arena at 7:00 p.m.
