CEDAR CITY, Utah - April 21 - Southern Utah's Elise Wheeler will be making her third consecutive trip to the NCAA National Gymnastics Championships as an all-around competitor by way of her finish in the all-around in the Morgantown regional. The meet is scheduled to take place this weekend as Wheeler will rotate with the University of Arkansas, beginning on Thursday night.
The championships are scheduled to run April 22 through April 24 with the first day of competition broken into two sessions. The top three teams from Thursday night will then advance to the Super 6 finals on Friday night where a team champion will be crowned. Individuals that place in the top four during the opening sessions will advance to the individual event finals on Saturday night.
Wheeler advanced to the finals during the 2009 championships, finishing 12th on bars and 6th in the nation on beam. The finishes garnered a pair of first-team All-American citations for the San Diego native in addition to a second-team accolade on the floor exercise.
Wheeler will enter the championships as one of the most decorated gymnast in school history with back-to-back Western Athletic Conference Gymnast of the Year and NCAA North Central Gymnast of the Year honors in 2009 and 2010. She was also the 2007 WAC Freshman of the Year and is among the finalists for the 2010 AAI Gymnast of the Year (awarded to the top gymnast in the country).
Competition for Wheeler will begin at 7:00 p.m. (ET) on Thursday as session II will include Florida, Alabama, Stanford, Arkansas, Missouri and Michigan. The individual event finals are scheduled for Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. (ET).
Last Time at the NCAA Championships
LINCOLN, Neb. - April 18, 2009 - Southern Utah's Elise Wheeler will not only be bringing home All-American first-team honors on bars and beam and second-team All-American honors on floor, but the junior will also be bringing home NCAA hardware after a sixth-place finish on the balance beam at the NCAA National Championships on Saturday night.
Last Meet
MORGANTOWN, W.V. - April 10 - Southern Utah recorded its best finish at an NCAA Regional as the Thunderbirds finished with a 195.325 to place third behind Stanford (196.775) and Michigan (195.800). The finish marked an end to the Thunderbirds' season, but Elise Wheeler will continue as the senior qualified for the NCAA National Championships as an all-around at-large competitor with a 39.250.
Media
Fans can follow live stats and live video of the meet online via www.gatorzone.com or www.ncaasports.com.
For the complete release, please click on the link at the top of the page.
