The Pac-12 Gymnastics Championships will take place this Saturday, May 19th, in Seattle, Washington. The competition is divided into two sessions: the first at 1:00pm PT, and the second at 6:00pm PT.

The first session will be hosted by No. 5 seed Washington, who have an RQS of 196.360. Washington will be competing with No. 6 seed Stanford, with a 196.305 RQS, No. 7 seed Arizona, with a 196.155 RQS, and No. 8 seed Arizona State with a 193.905 RQS.

The second session will be headlined by the top seed and defending champion, Utah, who come into Championships with a 197.205. Competing with Utah will be No. 2 seed UCLA (196.940 RQS), No. 3 seed California (196.555 RQS), and No. 4 seed Oregon State (196.450 RQS).

The top seed teams in each session will start on balance beam, with the events rotating in Olympic order. Below we’ve summarized what you can expect from this exciting conference championship.

The Vault Championship - Power against Power

The Pac-12 conference is packed with powerful vaulters, so it will be interesting to see who ends up performing their best on Saturday to secure the event title. Stanford’s Elizabeth Price is a big contender, having won the NCAA vault title last year and having upgraded to a double twisting Yurchenko this year. She is also currently the highest Pac-12 ranked gymnast in the nation, tied for 6th place. Utah’s Breanna Hughes is right behind her, tied for 10th place. Hughes is a strong all-around competitor for the Utes, but she’s particularly good on vault where she performs a Yurchenko 1 ½. Another contender is Arizona State’s Taylor Allex, who has scored no lower than a 9.85 in her last seven meets. California’s Toni-Ann Williams is also in the mix. She’s had some struggles on vault recently, but she can definitely score big and her season high this year is a 9.925.

Interestingly, none of the Pac-12 teams are particularly high up in the national rankings. Utah is ranked highest at #8, followed closely by California at #9, UCLA at #10, and Stanford at #12. Washington and Oregon State are much lower at #20 and #21, respectively. Arizona is ranked #29, and Arizona State is ranked #49.

A Close Race at the Bar

Utah is very strong as a team on uneven bars. They are currently ranked #3 in the nation with a team RQS of 49.395. Sitting behind them in the Pac-12 rankings is Oregon State at #10 nationally, followed by Stanford at #12 and UCLA at #13. California is ranked #19, Arizona at #23, and Arizona State is at #57.

Gymnasts to watch on this event include Stanford’s Elizabeth Price, who won the Pac-12 Championship on bars last year. Price is ranked #3 in the country and highest in the Pac-12. She’s got one of the hardest bar routines in the country and she performs it to perfection, or close to it, nearly every time. The individual title will likely be a tight race between Price and Oregon State’s Kaytianna McMillan, who is ranked #6 nationally. McMillan’s scores have been super high in the latter half of the season - she hasn’t scored below a 9.925 in her last five competitions. Utah’s bar workers have a shot at the title as well - mainly Breanna Hughes, Baely Rowe and Kassandra Lopez.

Who will Own the Beam?

As with all of the events, Utah is the highest ranked Pac-12 team nationally on beam, sitting in 4th place. They are followed by UCLA at #9, Stanford and Arizona at #11, Washington at #15, Oregon State at #17, California at #19, and Arizona State at #49.

UCLA’s Danusia Francis has a very strong chance of winning the title this year. She’s been sitting at or near the very top all year, and she scored her first 10.0 of the year on this event a few weeks ago. Utah’s beam anchor, Maddy Stover, is also one to watch for. Stover has been a strong beam specialist for the Utes and she’s currently tied for #9 in the nation. Oregon State’s Maddie Gardiner has also been so consistent this year. She has scored 9.85 or above a total of eight times this year.

The Best of Floor

Floor will be one of the most fun events to watch at Pac-12 Championships. Both UCLA and Utah especially have some of the strongest floor workers, and some of the most entertaining. As a team, Utah is ranked highest at #5, followed closely by #7 UCLA. California sits at #12, Oregon State is at #21, and Washington is at #24. Arizona is at #28, Stanford at #33, and Arizona State at #38. Floor has been a tough event for Stanford especially, so they will be looking to put out their most clean performances on Saturday.

Gymnasts to watch for include UCLA’s Sadiqua Bynum, who is so strong she performs a double tuck as a side pass. Cal’s Toni-Ann Williams and UCLA’s Angi Cipra are tied for 9th place, with Cipra’s routine being one of the most entertaining to watch. Utah’s Breanna Hughes also has a great routine with strong tumbling - she scored a 10.0 last weekend. Another powerful tumbler is Stanford’s Elizabeth Price, who has not scored lower than a 9.85 all season. Utah’s Sabrina Schwab has beautiful choreography, and, like Price, has not scored lower than a 9.85 this year.

Conference Champions - will it be a 3-peat?

Utah will be the favored team to win the Championship this year. The rank highest in the Pac-12 overall and on each event and have a strong roster, despite having to deal with a few injuries this year. If Utah wins, it will be their third consecutive conference championship. That being said, if UCLA is having a good day, they will definitely pose a threat to Utah. It will also be exciting to see how Cal, Stanford and Oregon State perform. All three are fairly close in the rankings but have had particularly good performances lately. Cal scored a huge 197.500 in their meet last weekend. Similarly, Stanford scored a 197.400 to beat both UCLA and Georgia in their last meet.

Be sure to tune in the Pac-12 Network on Saturday to catch all the action!