Denver’s gymnastics team is no. 18 in the country for a reason.
On Feb. 27, the Pioneers tied their second-best vault score in program history (49.425) during the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference (MRGC) meet in Cedar City, Utah.

The Pioneers managed this highscore despite illness and last-minute lineup changes.

The Pioneers’ 196.100 overall score was good enough for second place behind Southern Utah University (196.475). Utah State University came in third with a total of 195.100.

Sophomore Julia Ross (Henderson, Nevada) shined in the all-around competition for Denver, winning the event with a score of 39.375 in her first collegiate start in the all-around.

Contributions from both upperclassmen and underclassmen made it a memorable night on vault for Denver. Senior Nina McGee (Cincinnati, Ohio) took the event with a near-perfect score of 9.950. Fellow senior Ellese Sakai-Hart (Aptos, California) scored 9.750. Ross and her sophomore counterpart Rachel Fielitz (Walden, New York) both scored 9.925.

McGee also took second on the bars with a score of 9.850.

Fans will have an opportunity to catch the team in action the next two weekends, starting March 7 as Denver will host a meet with Ohio State University and the Air Force Academy. The MRGC Championships will be held in Magness Arena the following weekend.