Saturday, March 22
San Jose, Calif.
3:00 PM MT
Air Force Academy
at
Mountain West Conference Championships
Photo by: Thien-An Truong/NCAA Photos
Slife Named All Around Champ as Air Force Closes Mountain West Championships
3/22/2025 6:58:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
SAN JOSE, Calif. – In the week leading up to the 2025 Credit Union 1 Mountain West Gymnastics Championship in San Jose, head coach Jennifer Green of the Air Force Women's Gymnastics team told her Falcons that she wanted them to walk away from Saturday's title meet "leaving the tank on empty," putting forth every ounce of effort they could muster in Air Force's final meet of the 2025 season.
The Falcons may have finished the day in fourth place, but they took Coach Green's directive to heart, leaving the MW Championship with a 195.150 finish, earning Air Force's best team score since they broke the all-time record on Jan. 31 against SJSU at home (195.775).
Sophomore Maggie Slife, the 2025 Mountain West Gymnast of the Year, added MW All-Around Champion and Co-Beam Champion honors to an already extensive list of awards, finishing as the top all around performer (39.250) while tying the top score on beam with San Jose State's Madison Gustitus (9.875).
"We're all thrilled for Maggie, the back-to-back Mountain West AA Champion," said Green. "It's so fun to watch her perform calm and confidently."
Opening competition on bars, Air Force scored a 48.775 to match a season high. A pair of 9.800s for both Slife and MW Co-Freshman of the Year Alyssa Bigler led Falcon scores on the apparatus. Junior Gabriella Hartley followed up, finishing with a 9.750 to earn a season best.
On balance beam, Air Force scored a 48.950; Slife's title-worthy 9.875 set a bar which would not be surpassed the remainder of the day, while freshman Anna Bacott's third 9.800 or better of her inaugural season helped lead the way to the Falcons landing their best finish on beam since Feb. 9.
Moving over to floor, the Falcons earned a 48.675, topped by Slife's 9.825, earning the three-time conference floor specialist of the week her 15th-straight 9.800 or higher finish in the event.
Closing the day on vault, the Falcons earned a 48.775, as Bigler, the final Air Force competitor of the day, closed out Air Force's regular season strong with a 9.800, good for a third-place finish.
Utah State, finishing with a 196.100, finished in first place and MW Championship status; Regular-season champions Boise State closed in second place (195.950); Host San Jose State closed on a third-place, 194.450.
"We started with a bang! That was a great bar rotation for us—we attacked from start to finish. Beam was a fantastic team effort," Green said. "They owned the beam, and you could see the confidence in their performances.
"We kept pushing on floor and controlled what we could. And the vault team gave it their all! Alyssa (Bigler) had the third-highest score of the competition on vault!
"They embodied #OneTeamOneFight. It was the next man up all day, and everyone had each other's backs from start to finish. And I love that Clara (Wallace) was able to come back for conference after being out all season. What a boost for all of us.
"I am excited about the future. When we get everyone back and healthy for next season, watch out."
Up Next:
Teams and individual participants in this year's NCAA regionals will be announced in the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Selection Show, set for 10 a.m. MT on Monday, March 24 on ESPNU.
The Falcons may have finished the day in fourth place, but they took Coach Green's directive to heart, leaving the MW Championship with a 195.150 finish, earning Air Force's best team score since they broke the all-time record on Jan. 31 against SJSU at home (195.775).
Sophomore Maggie Slife, the 2025 Mountain West Gymnast of the Year, added MW All-Around Champion and Co-Beam Champion honors to an already extensive list of awards, finishing as the top all around performer (39.250) while tying the top score on beam with San Jose State's Madison Gustitus (9.875).
"We're all thrilled for Maggie, the back-to-back Mountain West AA Champion," said Green. "It's so fun to watch her perform calm and confidently."
Opening competition on bars, Air Force scored a 48.775 to match a season high. A pair of 9.800s for both Slife and MW Co-Freshman of the Year Alyssa Bigler led Falcon scores on the apparatus. Junior Gabriella Hartley followed up, finishing with a 9.750 to earn a season best.
On balance beam, Air Force scored a 48.950; Slife's title-worthy 9.875 set a bar which would not be surpassed the remainder of the day, while freshman Anna Bacott's third 9.800 or better of her inaugural season helped lead the way to the Falcons landing their best finish on beam since Feb. 9.
Moving over to floor, the Falcons earned a 48.675, topped by Slife's 9.825, earning the three-time conference floor specialist of the week her 15th-straight 9.800 or higher finish in the event.
Closing the day on vault, the Falcons earned a 48.775, as Bigler, the final Air Force competitor of the day, closed out Air Force's regular season strong with a 9.800, good for a third-place finish.
Utah State, finishing with a 196.100, finished in first place and MW Championship status; Regular-season champions Boise State closed in second place (195.950); Host San Jose State closed on a third-place, 194.450.
"We started with a bang! That was a great bar rotation for us—we attacked from start to finish. Beam was a fantastic team effort," Green said. "They owned the beam, and you could see the confidence in their performances.
"We kept pushing on floor and controlled what we could. And the vault team gave it their all! Alyssa (Bigler) had the third-highest score of the competition on vault!
"They embodied #OneTeamOneFight. It was the next man up all day, and everyone had each other's backs from start to finish. And I love that Clara (Wallace) was able to come back for conference after being out all season. What a boost for all of us.
"I am excited about the future. When we get everyone back and healthy for next season, watch out."
Up Next:
Teams and individual participants in this year's NCAA regionals will be announced in the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Selection Show, set for 10 a.m. MT on Monday, March 24 on ESPNU.
Players Mentioned
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