“Impossible” is the word Maile O’Keefe used when recounting her thoughts on being able to win the all around at the NCAA championships.
“Honestly, I thought it was going to be impossible to win with a Yurchenko full. Obviously, I’m at a slight disadvantage right from the get-go. There’s no way I can get a perfect 40,” said O’Keefe post-meet after winning the NCAA all around title with a 39.7625. “All I can really do is just go out and give my best on every event, and that’s what I did. It was an amazingly unexpected result. I’m really proud of myself.”
O’Keefe capped off her day and title with a perfect 10 on balance beam—her fifth of the season—that put Utah in the lead for the first time all evening. The Utes ultimately won with a 198.225, the the highest score of either semifinal. That total beat out defending champion Oklahoma’s 198.1625 which qualified them for the Four on the Floor, while UCLA’s third-place 197.9125 goes down as the highest score ever to miss out on qualifying for the NCAA final. Underdog Kentucky rounded out the session with a 197.125.
Making O’Keefe’s event-title-winning beam set all the more impressive was that she did it while the crowd roared for a perfect score on bars from Bruin Jordan Chiles, who…
