Juniors Brittni Watkins and Michaela Woodford of the NC State gymnastics team placed second and third, respectively, in the all-around competition at the NCAA Regional Championships Saturday in Norman, Oklahoma.
The duo recorded scores of 39.250 and 39.225, marking the first time the Wolfpack will send two gymnasts to the NCAA Championships.
“We’re also so proud of Brittni and Michaela for qualifying in the all-around,” associate head coach Colleen Johnson said. “For them to be right up at the top of the standings with the teams we faced today was impressive. They did a great job and for both of them to have done that together is even better.”
Madeline Gardiner of Oregon State took the all-around competition with a score of 39.350.
The Wolfpack finished fifth overall in the competition with a score of 195.775, the team’s fourth-best performance of the season. Top-seeded Oklahoma, the host of the Regional, took the meet with a score of 197.625.
State managed to avoid counting a fall in any event Saturday, something Johnson said the team had been aiming for all season.
“I am really proud of the whole team and how they pulled together the entire meet.” Johnson said. “They did what they set out to do, which was to hit all 24 routines. I commend all of them for putting their hearts into today and finishing off the season on a high note.”
State had its best performance on the vault, with all six gymnasts earning scores of 9.700 or better. Vault was the only event in which the Pack compiled a top-four team score, 49.075.
Watkins led the team with 9.875, and freshman Chelsea Knight stepped up to add a 9.850.
The Pack also shined on the floor exercise, posting a score of 49.000.
Watkins and senior Lane Jarred, EAGL co-champions on the floor exercise, continued their dominance on the floor, posting scores of 9.850 and 9.825.
In the final meet of her collegiate career, Jarred competed in all four events for the first time since this year. At the beginning of the season, Jarred said she hoped to perform as an all-around competitor by the end of the season.
The senior made the most of her opportunity, posting an all-around score of 39.100, good for fifth at the meet. Jarred’s score shattered her previous career-best by over 1.5 points.
Though they were the Pack’s two lowest scores of the day, the beam and uneven bar routines both tied for the team’s third-best showing of the season in each event.
On bars, Watkins again led the way with a score of 9.825. Woodford and junior Courtney Turner were not far behind, each notching a score of 9.800, marking a career-high for Turner.
On beam, Jarred and Woodford both scored over 9.800 to lead the Pack.
Following Saturday’s meet, the Pack’s 2015 campaign as a team is over. However, Watkins and Woodford will travel to Fort Worth on April 17-19 to compete in the NCAA Championships.
The duo will join the all-around qualifiers from five other Regional meets for a chance at All-American honors or even a national title.
