The Big 12 Championships are upon us, and the WVU gymnastics team is ready to show the competition just what they are made of, in their debut performance at the Big 12 Championships. Coming in as the reigning EAGL champions, the Mountaineers are ready to fight for the top spot in their new conference home.

The Mountaineers are no stranger to their fellow Big 12 competitors, No. 2 Oklahoma and Iowa State. The team faced both teams during the regular season, proving its worth as the conference newcomer. Oklahoma claimed the top spot in Morgantown against the Mountaineers, but the team was not far behind, earning its highest home score of the season against the Sooners. The Mountaineers defeated the Cyclones in Morgantown in their only home dual meet of the season.

WVU head coach Jason Butts, provided his inside opinion on the Big 12 Conference Championship.

Me: What were your initial feelings about joining the Big 12 Conference?
Jason: I was excited I think mostly because we could say we were competing for the same conference championship that all the other teams were competing for. EAGL is a great conference, but every time I would say “EAGL” people would say, “what’s that?” I was excited that now I could say that we are competing for a Big 12 Championship and everyone on campus would know what I was talking about.

Me: What opportunities does the Big 12 Conference present for WVU gymnastics?
Jason: It gives us national exposure. It also gives us a lot of exposure in the No. 1 recruiting territory, the Midwest. The last three Olympic all-around champions have come out of the Midwest. That’s where some of the best gymnasts in the country are. It’s also nice because now they don’t call us western Virginia; they actually know we are a state. It’s exciting that I can tell some of the top recruits that we are going to go back to their area of the country. It’s good for their families to know we are going to come back there for competition. I would say this is one of the biggest advantages, and the advantage of our conference title being the same as everyone else’s. 

Me: Would you say you had to make any adjustments entering the Big 12 Conference?
Jason: Just that we are going to be competing for a title against the No. 2 team in the country is probably the only adjustment. We already had Oklahoma and Iowa State on our schedule before we knew we were changing to the Big 12, and we had already traveled to both of those schools. As far as it affecting us, that is really the only thing. That and our conference championship is going to run much shorter now. We used to have eight teams and now it’s going to run like a regular tri-meet. Adjustment wise, just knowing we have the No. 2 team, but it’s also a source of pride knowing we have that team in our conference. 

Me: Last year you claimed the EAGL Championship title. What is it going to be like going in as the newcomer in this year’s Big 12 Championship?
Jason: I think we have a lot to prove, you know? We have never been apart of this competition before. Plus, it’s going to run like a regular tri meet, but there’s still this title of Big 12 Champion hanging over the top of it. I think this is going to be more significant because there is a conference office now and they are getting a Big 12 gift. It’s kind of like you belong to something more official I guess would be a good way of putting it. These guys are used to rolling with the punches. We are just going to go in there like it’s a tri-meet on the road and hope for a great away score.

Me: How will the conference championship factor into your RQS score?
Jason: It counts just like a regular road score does. So, if we can go out there and not worry about Oklahoma and Iowa State and just get a great road score, it will help us in the rankings and help us get closer to where we want to be. 

Me: Have you been making any changes in practice this week for the championships?
Jason: You know, we aren’t really changing anything. I feel like we are where we need to be gymnastics wise, and I think it causes undo stress to try and do things differently than what we have done in the past. We are just treating it like a regular road meet. It’s the same thing. We can only control what we do, and we are going to go in with the same game plan. It has been successful so far, so that’s what we are going to try and knock out.

Me: What line-ups can we expect to see at the Big 12 Championships?
Jason: I think it will be pretty similar to what we have seen. Obviously, there could be a change here and there. That really just depends on practice this week and how people are health wise once we get out there. Overall, I predict a pretty similar line-up to what we have bee seeing here the past couple of weeks. 

Me: Would you say competing against three teams opposed to eight helps lower the pressure the team may feel in the championship setting?
Jason: I think pressure wise, that’s really what we focused on last year. We were really hoping for a great away score and we got that great away score. It just happened to be the highest one that night. I think the pressure comes as you move through the competition. You know the first two or three events are going well, and you see where it’s going to fall and where the other teams are going to fall. You also see the score you have the potential to get. This is where the pressure starts building and that’s when it starts getting dangerous. We can’t be perfect at that point. I think going in we are very relaxed and everything is going fine. We just have to make sure we stay even and not change anything that we have been doing. I just want the same meet we had this past weekend.

Me: You have already faced both Oklahoma and Iowa State during the regular season. Would you say it helps knowing what your competition is capable of going into the Big 12 Championships?
Jason: I think so. You know Oklahoma certainty has the star power going behind it, so I think it’s nice that we have already seen them in competition. Iowa State is always going to be competitive, so it’s nothing that we haven’t already stood around a gym and seen before. It definitely helps that the team is not going to be trying to watch what the other teams are doing. They have already seen them. I think we can forget what’s going on over there and just stay focused on what we are doing, so yea it definitely helps.

Me: How do you stay focused on the championship knowing you are going up against Oklahoma, who is also the defending champion?
Jason: You know I tell the team all the time, the equalizers in gymnastics are the balance beam and the uneven bars. You can be the No. 1 team in the country and you still have to stay on those two. It doesn’t matter how talented you are and the athletes you have, it’s the same width for everybody. It’s just as hard to stay on for an Olympian as it is a level 10 athlete. It’s really, I don’t want to sound harsh, I just don’t care what the other teams are doing. What I care about is what is in front of us and what we can control. That’s where I want the team’s brain and their mood when we go into competition. It’s right there in front of us. It’s the people you have been training with, its your coaches, its your athletic trainers, it’s the staff you have been used to. Nothing has changed. We didn’t worry about it in the beginning so let’s not worry about it now.

Me: What are your overall goals going into the Big 12 Championships?
Jason: I just want to go in and do great Mountaineer gymnastics and I think the rest will take care of itself.

Follow the Mountaineers’ journey in the Big 12 Championship live at WVUsports.com.