Utah’s gymnastics stars are being recognized among the nation’s elite.
Sophomore MyKayla Skinner and junior MaKenna Merrell-Giles were both named regular season All-Americans by the National Association of College Gymnastics Coaches (NAGC) on Tuesday. Skinner joins rare air as one of three gymnasts to be named a 2018 All-American in all four events as well as the all-round.
Oklahoma’s Maggie Nichols and LSU’s Myia Hambrick were also designated with the honors.
Regular-season All-American awards were instituted in 2013, while NCAA All-American honors are won at the annual NCAA Championships event.
Skinner was named first-team All-American in the all-around, where she currently sits ranked No. 2 in the country. On the vault, she’s currently No. 5, while on floor she is No. 3. The sophomore from Gilbert, Ariz., is also a second-team All-American selection on bars (No. 10) and beam (No. 14).
She now has 13 All-American award honors to her name. A year ago as a freshman, Skinner was a four-time All-American and a four-time NACFC regular-season All-American.
Merrell-Giles is an NACGC first-team selection in the all-around (No. 8), vault (No. 6) and floor (No. 6). The junior from Pleasant Grove now has six career All-American awards, but this is her first as a regular season All-American. Merrell-Giles was a three-time NCAA All-American last year.
The No. 4-ranked Red Rocks will be the No. 1 seed at the Salt Lake City-based NCAA Regional meet on Saturday. Also in town to compete is No. 9 Cal, No. 16 Auburn, No. 21 BYU, as well as Stanford and Southern Utah.