CEDAR CITY — Southern Utah University’s Flippin’ Birds are headed to the NCAA Regional Championship in Berkeley, California. The Thunderbirds are scheduled for the first-round play against San Jose State on Thursday at the University of California.
Southern Utah enters the meet ranked No. 33 team in the country, just ahead of the Spartans ranking at No. 35. The Flippin’ Birds are fresh from winning the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Conference Championship, where they scored an impressive 196.625.
San Jose recently placed third in the Mountain West Championships held at Utah State, scoring 196.400. The best team will advance to the second round and compete in the second session on Friday, April 5, at 7 p.m.
The national championships automatically qualify the top two teams from every regional competition. Furthermore, in each regional round two, the top all-around competitor and the top event specialist, not part of advancing teams, will secure a place in the national championships.
Notably, event specialist qualifiers will exclusively participate in the events for which they qualify.
“We are so excited to compete once again at the NCAA Championships,” Thunderbird head coach Scotty Bauman said. “This team has proved all year that, regardless of experience, the Flippin’ Birds are a force to be reckoned with. I am so proud of this team and all that they can accomplish.”
San Jose State
The Spartans have qualified for the NCAA Regional for the ninth time in program history. San Jose has three competitors who will compete as individuals in events on Friday regardless of the team advancing.
Lauren Macpherson qualified as an all-around regional competitor for the third consecutive season. Jada Mazury will compete on the bars and floor. Katherine Weyhmiller earned her first regional berth on the beam.
Southern Utah
The Flippin’ Birds have won consecutive Conference Championships in two separate conferences. Southern Utah won the Final MRGC Championship before transitioning to the MPSF and securing the first title in their new conference.
The Thunderbirds had a historic performance at home vs BYU, scoring 197.125. (3rd best in program history and an MPSF conference record)
Southern Utah is ranked No. 35 on the vault, No. 23 on bars, No. 26 on beam and No. 46 on the floor.
Sophomore Trista Goodman scored a 9.950 on the bars earlier this season, setting a new career high as well as matching the team high for the season.
Freshman Niya Randolph set a new school and conference record for the all-around with a 39.600 against BYU earlier this season. Randolph was named the MPSF conference Gymnast of the Year for her outstanding consistency all-around.
The Thunderbirds set a new school and conference record on the bars against Penn State, scoring 49.475. Freshman Brinlee Christensen was named the MPSF Freshman of the Year for her outstanding debut season.
The Thunderbirds have six gymnasts ranked in the top 100 nationally across various events.
Thunderbird coach Scott Bauman was named the MRGC Coach of the Year in 2023. Associate head coach Jamie Wysong and assistant coach Jeff Richards were named Assistant Coaches of the Year.
Meet information:
Southern Utah at NCAA Regionals
- Date: Thursday, April 4
- March in: 4 p.m. MDT
- Venue: Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, California.
- Stream: ESPN+
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