It was an interesting idea in 2018 when the Pac-12 Conference announced that it was moving its women’s gymnastics championships to West Valley City and the Maverik Center.
The idea behind the move was pretty straightforward.
The Maverik Center had the capability (i.e. room) to host gymnastics meets on a podium. (All the event apparatuses are raised off the base floor of the arena and placed on a stage. Podiums make the events physically less stable, but more forgiving on gymnasts bodies.)
The NCAA women’s gymnastics championships are competed on podium every spring (regular season meets on campuses are not).
An extra meet on a podium before the postseason could only help Pac-12 programs contend nationally.
(It also didn’t hurt that the University of Utah had also cultivated the best attending fanbase in the country, and that the Maverik Center and Jon M. Huntsman Center are only 11 miles apart.)
As University of Utah head gymnastics coach Tom Farden said at the time: “Holding our championships on podium at a neutral site will help keep the Pac-12 schools on a level playing field with the other top teams in the nation.”
Fast forward to 2023 and the Maverik Center hosting gymnastics competitions is no longer a novelty. Things have come a long way in five years.
This weekend, the Maverik Center will play host to two major NCAA gymnastics competitions (three meets in total):
- The Best of Utah, featuring No. 6 Utah, BYU, Utah State and No. 22 Southern Utah.
- The inaugural Wasatch Classic, which includes six teams ranked in the top 25, headlined by No. 3 Cal and No. 6 UCLA.
Competition begins Friday night at 7 p.m. MT with the Best of Utah and continues Saturday with two sessions of the Wasatch Classic, one at 3 p.m. MT, another at 8 p.m MT.
Since the 2019 Pac-12 championships, the Maverik Center has hosted the Best of Utah three times, the Pac-12 championships an additional two times, a NCAA regional (multiple days of competition) and USA gymnastics’ U.S. Classic.
Throw in this weekend’s competition’s and the Maverik Center has become something of a gymnastics destination. This weekend it is offering the best collection of college gymnastics of any site in the country with eight ranked teams competing.
Following the inaugural Best of Utah meet in 2020, Farden noted: “6,500 people and it was pretty loud in here It was really cool to see the teams out there. I thought it was a great jumping-off point for this event and I couldn’t be more happy.”
Jumping off point indeed.
How to watch the Best of Utah
No. 6 Utah, No. 22 Southern Utah, BYU and Utah State
Friday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. MT
Maverik Center (12,000 capacity), West Valley City
TV: BYUtv
Radio: 101.5 FM
- Utah defeated No. 10 LSU in its season opener last weekend with its best score in an opener since 2005.
- Southern Utah won its session of the Super 16 (held in Las Vegas), while BYU is coming off a disappointing fourth place finish in its session of the Super 16.
- Utah State opens its season with the Best of Utah.
- Utah State head coach Kristin White will make her debut as the leader of the Aggies, after taking over for Amy Smith, who left for Clemson during the offseason.
- BYU may have struggled in its first meet, but Rebekah Ripley’s Barbie-inspired floor routine drew notice nationally.
How to watch the Wasatch Classic
Session 1
No. 6 UCLA, No. 19 Minnesota, No. 25 Washington and Boise State
Saturday, Jan. 14 at 3 p.m. MT
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Session 2
No. 3 California, Oregon State, No. 16 Iowa and No. 20 Pittsburgh
Saturday, Jan. 14 at 8 p.m. MT
TV: Pac-12 Networks
- UCLA finished fourth in its session of the Super 16, but held its own against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Michigan and No. 5 Auburn.
- Cal’s 197.457 recorded at the Super 16 was the 11th-best team score all-time in program history and good enough to propel the Bears to first place in their session, against Iowa, Arizona State and BYU.
- Washington also competed at the Super 16 and had its best season opening score since 2004.
- Oregon State boasts one of the best gymnasts in the country in Olympic gold medalist Jade Carey but didn’t not fare well at the Super 16, finishing third in its session behind Stanford and Georgia.
