Sometimes the emotions of Senior Night can be so much gymnasts don’t perform their best. It’s so much of a unique pressure they often falter.
Not Cristal Isa. All the fanfare and buzz of Senior Night didn’t weigh down Utah’s bubbly, always dependable balance beam star, instead it allowed her to float over her 4-inch wide stage, finishing her career in the Huntsman Center with a 10.0 in Utah’s 197.925-196.675 win over Arizona.
Isa’s perfect score was the second of her career with the first coming in 2022.
“I’m just glad it ended perfectly,” she said.
Isa started to get emotional while waiting her turn. Utah assistant coach Carly Dockendorf chatted her up as a distraction and that strategy seemed to help as Isa hit her tumbling perfectly, looked crisp on all her dance moves and nailed her landing.
She didn’t give the judges any reason to spoil the Senior Night party. One of Isa’s playful moves in the routine is taking an imaginary picture of the stands. She seemed to linger in the moment, soaking in her last Huntsman routine in front of the 15,558 in attendance.
“I felt very grateful to be able to come back for this year,” Isa said of her fifth year.
Isa’s routine was the highlight of another big meet for the Utes, who finish the regular season March 11 at Oregon State.
Friday’s meet started on a high note during the introductions with seniors Abby Paulson, Jaedyn Rucker and Maile O’Keefe announcing they will return for a fifth year.
All three gymnasts have continued to improve this year which helped them make the decision to return.
O’Keefe, the 2021 NCAA bars and floor champion, can compete in the all-around while Rucker, the 2022 NCAA vault champion, has been consistent contributor on the floor in addition to the vault and Paulson is a regular in the beam and floor lineups.
“We don’t push this whole COVID, fifth-year thing,” Farden said of the exemption that allows for athletes to participate another season if they were affected by the shortened 2020 year. “But we are super excited.”
As for the rest of the meet, the Utes were solid, opening with a 49.425 on vault, scoring a 49.325 on bars and logging the 49.55 on the balance beam bolstered by Isa’s 10.0.
The Utes were without Kara Eaker, who sat out the meet due to post-concussion protocol. Jaylene Gilstrap went in her place on the beam, scoring 9.85.
The one sobering moment in the meet came when the gymnasts recognized some fellow student-athletes. The Utes wore leotards with “22″ on the back to honor football player Ty Jordan who died of an accidental gunshot wound in 2020 and Aaron Lowe, Jordan’s teammate and friend who was shot and killed at a party in 2021.
Both players wore No. 22. The Utes’ coaches have been donating $22 for every stuck landing to the memorial scholarship fund set up in the players’ honor this year.
Individual Results
Vault: Maile O’Keefe (Utah) and Makenna Smith (Utah) 9.9
Uneven bars: Alysen Fears (Arizona) 9.925
Balance beam: Cristal Isa (Utah) 10.0
Floor: Jaedyn Rucker (Utah) 9.95
All-around: Maile O’Keefe (Utah) 39.525
Donate to the newsroom now. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax deductible