West Valley City • Makenna Smith clenched her fists and belted a celebratory cry toward the sky.
The Utah junior had just capped off her final routine of the night with a 9.95 score on vault. Smith led the Red Rocks with a career-high 39.725 all-around score in the Best of Utah meet Monday at the Maverik Center.
Collectively, No. 5 Utah defeated BYU, Southern Utah and Utah State with a 197.950 score, tying Oklahoma for the highest score in the nation this season.
She credited her performance to being at ease and not worrying about scoring.
“I think I was a little bit more confident,” Smith said. “I think I had to take a couple steps back because I was putting a little bit too much pressure on myself at these first couple meets. I just wanted to go out there and have a great time and be able to smile and not actually care about scores or outcomes or anything.”
One might even say she was vibing.
“Makenna — when she’s in her element, and she’s just vibing in her own world — she’s going to have a fantastic night,” Utah head coach Carly Dockendorf said. “Mackenna works so hard every single day she comes in. She has a great attitude. She’s encouraging with her teammates, and she loves to compete and have a crowd. I think she was vibing tonight.”
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah’s Grace McCallum greets teammates after competing on floor during a college gymnastics meet against BYU, Utah State and Southern Utah in West Valley City, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.
Alongside Smith, senior Grace McCallum finished with another strong performance, notching a 39.600 all-around score — good for second on the night.
Led by the tandem of Smith and McCallum, the Red Rocks finished with their best performance of the season.
That bodes well for the rest of 2025.
“What a fantastic night,” Dockendorf said. “I think one of the highlights was just seeing our team complete four events and do a complete meet. We haven’t done that yet until tonight, and I loved their composure all night. I thought they stayed confident and relaxed but really focused.
“I love how everyone stepped up.”
No timetable for Neff’s return
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah’s Avery Neff, below, receives a ride to the next rotation from Jaedyn Rucker during a college gymnastics meet against BYU, Utah State and Southern Utah in West Valley City, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.
While Utah’s star freshman announced the extent of the injury she suffered against Iowa State, her status for 2025 remains unclear.
Avery Neff was seen wearing casts on both of her ankles Monday night while supporting her teammates. She started the night using crutches during the pre-meet introduction.
She later used a scooter to support her right ankle.
“I think it just shows how much she cares about this team and each individual on the team,” Dockendorf said. “Obviously she would have loved to be out there competing, but if she can, she’s going to bring everything she can to still make sure she’s contributing at 100%, and that’s exactly what she did tonight.
“We don’t have a timeline. Sprained ankles have a variety of timelines, so we’re just gonna have to be patient with the process, and kind of take it one day at a time with her.”
Dockendorf said she was also impressed with how the Red Rock’s rallied following Neff’s injury on Friday night.
“I think it shows the strength of the character of each person on our team,” Dockendorf said. “We have a lot of veterans on our team that have been in that position before, when something like that has happened, and just have to step up, step forward and just continue on together.”
Utah ‘not focusing’ on scoring
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah head coach Carly Dockendorf, top row fourth from right, speaks to her team during a college gymnastics meet against BYU, Utah State and Southern Utah in West Valley City, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.
Dockendorf aired frustrations about judging and scores following some of Utah’s early season meets.
But now the Red Rocks are focusing on what they can control.
It paid dividends during Monday’s meeting.
“I definitely think scores can elevate your confidence,” Dockendorf said. “But something we’ve really been working on is not focusing on the scores, because it can also go the other way really quick.”
McCallum added: “I think, going into this meet, we weren’t worried about scores. We just wanted to go out there and have another good meet back to back. We really want to keep building [on our performances] and just being a family out there, supporting each and every person that’s up there competing. … I think that takes away from focusing on the scoring.”
As Utah sets its focus for a conference matchup against in-state rival BYU at 7 p.m. MT on Friday in Provo, Dockendorf is hoping to use this meet to elevate her team moving forward.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah’s Ashley Glynn speaks with assistant coach Jimmy Pratt before performing on bars during a college gymnastics meet against BYU, Utah State and Southern Utah in West Valley City, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.
“I think you could just kind of carry on the momentum and the energy from meet to meet,” Dockendorf said. “That was one thing we did talk about is that there were a lot of really good, positive things that happened Friday night for us. I really felt like on Friday, we did a good job of just staying present in the moment, kind of letting go of expectations and celebrating the little things. We really carried that over to today, and we can carry that again to Friday.”
But, as always, Utah’s head coach knows there’s more to work on.
“We definitely have some details that we still need to continue to clean up,” she said. “We have handstands, landings and small little deductions here and there. But I think the biggest thing is we continue to see this team just grow with confidence, grow as a family together and just step up for one another.
“I think that’s going to carry us a long way this season.”
