McCallum, Thompson Earn Pac-12 Weekly Awards

SAN FRANCISCO – University of Utah gymnasts Grace McCallum and Sage Thompson earned Pac-12 weekly awards following exceptional performances against then-ranked No. 3 Oklahoma, the Pac-12 Conference announced Tuesday afternoon. The weekly honors for the pair of freshmen mark the first of their young Ute careers.

McCallum was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week following her 39.675 in the all-around, which tied for the highest score in the all-around through two weeks of competition. The Isanti, Minn., native scored a 9.90 or better on three of the four events to post the highest all-around score by a freshman in the conference since 2017. She posted a meet-winning 9.975 on floor to grab her second and third wins of the season after claiming the all-around title as well.

McCallum also posted a 9.925 on beam, which tied for the highest score by a Ute on the event, while adding a 9.90 on vault for the second-straight meet. She also added a 9.875 on bars. McCallum's 9.90 on vault and 9.875 on bars were tied for the second-best scores by a Ute on the respective events. She is ranked No. 8 on vault in the nation, No. 9 on beam, No. 14 on floor and No. 19 in the all-around.

Thompson was named the Pac-12 Specialist of the Week after recording her first career victory in just the second meet of the season. Thompson posted a 9.925 in the second position on bars to earn a share of the title against the Sooners. It is the first 9.90 or higher of her career and the 9.925 is the highest score by any Ute this season on bars.

The pair of freshmen helped Utah post its highest home-opening score in program history (197.775) and hand Oklahoma its first regular season loss since 2018. The 197.775 is the second-best score of the season in the NCAA to this point.

McCallum, Thompson, and the rest of the second-ranked Utah Gymnastics team are set to open Pac-12 play this Friday, Jan. 21, against No. 13 Arizona State. The competition will begin at 7 p.m. MT with introductions slated to begin at 6:45 p.m. MT. The meet will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.