Three Arizona GymCats finish with National Qualifying Scores (NQS) high enough to earn All-Big 12 honors, as announced by the conference on Wednesday.
Senior Alysen Fears was named All-Big 12 on the uneven bars. Fifth-year Elena Deets earned the honor for balance beam. Sophomore Abigayle Martin won for her performance in the all-around this year.
Fears has the third-highest NQS in the Big 12 on bars. Her 9.890 falls behind only Utah’s Grace McCallum (9.955) and Denver’s Rylie Mundell (9.900). That ranks 38th in the country.
The senior performed in the all-around this year. She had season highs of 9.850 on vault, 9.925 on bars, 9.900 on balance beam, and 9.900 on floor exercise. She scored a 9.900 or better on bars in five of Arizona’s 11 meets this season. She was under a 9.800 score just three times.
Deets is a specialist who performs bars and balance beam for Arizona, but beam has been her strongest event. Her 9.885 NQS was tied with Utah’s Amelie Morgan for fifth in the Big 12. They were two of nine athletes in the country who tied for 39th in NQS on the event.
Deets scored a 9.800 or better on the balance beam in nine of 11 meets this season. Her high score was 9.925 and she had a 9.900 or better three times.
Although she wasn’t one of the top six bar workers in the league, she contributed a 9.875 NQS for UA, tying for 55th in the country. Her season high on the event was 9.925. She earned a score of 9.900 or better four times and was below 9.800 only three times.
Martin didn’t stand out enough in any single event to be all-conference on them, but her consistency on all four night in and night out made her one of the best all-arounders in the Big 12. The sophomore is fifth in the league and 39th in the country with a 39.315 NQS. The achievement, combined with her youth, is promising for Arizona’s future.
On beam, Martin was part of the 20th-best group in the country. She contributed a 9.875 NQS, tying for 56th in the country.
Martin earned a season-high score of 9.900 twice this season. She earned a 9.825 or higher in nine of the 11 meets.
Martin’s lowest NQS score came on vault, but it was actually her second-highest ranking. She earned a 9.825 NQS during the regular season. That ties for 113th on the event.
Her highest score on vault this season was 9.875. She scored 9.800 or higher in six of Arizona’s 11 meets. She dropped below 9.725 only twice despite performing a vault that can only earn a 9.95 when performed perfectly.
Martin had a 9.835 on bars, which ranked 129th in the nation. She hit her season-high of 9.875 twice. She scored below 9.800 just twice.
Martin had another 9.835 on floor exercise. That score ties for 178th.
She scored a season-high 9.900 in the final regular season meet. She had a 9.825 or better six times.
The group of all-conference honorees and their teammates are the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Championships, putting them in the evening session. Their seed means they will start on balance beam, proceed to floor exercise, perform vault, and then wrap up on bars.
The meet will air on ESPNU on Saturday, Mar. 22 at 4 p.m. MST. The early session, which features the bottom three seeds in the Big 12, will stream on ESPN+ beginning at 11 a.m. MST.
Lead photo by Catherine Regan / Arizona Athletics