Utah’s gymnastics lineups have so much depth, but pick them apart and one crucial inclusion in all of them is Grace McCallum, Utah’s Olympian who was having a tremendous start to her sophomore season.
Now what?
Now what becomes of those lineups after McCallum injured her knee in Utah’s quad meet in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday? Now what becomes of McCallum’s competitive future? Now what becomes of Utah’s chances to win a national title this year?
McCallum was scheduled to be Utah’s anchor on bars and floor Saturday as she was expected to continue the elite gymnastics she has provided this year as she more often than not scores 9.9 or higher.
Instead, she watched the rest of Utah’s meet on crutches after she was injured on her vault landing.
The Utes won the meet, scoring 197.6, while Illinois was second (196.3), Georgia was third (196.1) and Illinois State was fourth (195.85), but losing McCallum negated any win.
Utah coach Tom Farden said McCallum would be evaluated in Salt Lake, but injuries such as McCallum’s often are season-ending.
“We are devastated for her,” Farden said. “Injuries are an unfortunate part of sports but I’m proud of the way the team rebounded.”
The Utes showed they have plenty of talent to still produce big scores, but do they have enough to make up for someone like McCallum? An athlete who can make a team not just great, but elite.
The Utes’ next chance to show they do will be Monday, Feb. 20 when they compete at Arizona State. The next home meet is against Cal on Feb. 24.
If she is sidelined for the season, the Utes have good depth, as witnessed by the effort Saturday, but McCallum and her elite experience added a little something extra to the lineups. That intangible eliteness is something that separates the great teams at the end and it will be a challenge to make up for her absence.
“We are going to have to take it day by day,” senior Maile O’Keefe said. “Everybody can step up and will step up for the rest of the season. Grace is a big part of our team and we all want to do it for her.”
The Utes showed how strong they are both mentally and physically after McCallum was injured. Her 9.2 vault score was tossed out of the team’s 48.975 effort. The high was a 9.85 from Jaedyn Rucker.
Utah scored a 49.55 on the bars, led by a 9.975 from Cristal Isa, to take the lead at the halfway mark with a 98.525 while Illinois was in second with a 98.05.
The Utes then ripped off an incredible set on the beam, scoring a 49.6 as O’Keefe earned her second 10.0 in as many weeks to lead the Utes while freshman Makenna Smith scored a 9.8 competing in place of McCallum.
O’Keefe’s routine gives her six 10.0s on the balance beam in her career, which ties her with Theresa Kulikowski for the most on the balance beam by a Utah gymnast. Kulikowski earned one in 1999 and 2001, two in 2002 and three in 2003.
“This 10.0 felt more like a 10.0 than last week’s,” O’Keefe said. “It felt super clean and felt really good and tying the all-time record is amazing.”
The Utes finished with a 49.475 on the floor as Jaylene Gilstrap, Smith, Jaedyn Rucker and Kara Eaker all scored 9.9s. Eaker went in place of McCallum as the floor anchor.
“We didn’t take much of a step back,” Farden said. “I am proud of everybody.”