Even after all this time, Maile O’Keefe isn’t certain until she sees it in writing.
“I feel like a 10 is never given until it’s on the scoreboard,” the Red Rocks’ fifth-year senior leader said.
O’Keefe saw that perfect number on the scoreboard again Friday as she received the 14th career 10.0 on the beam in the Utes’ win over Oregon State. O’Keefe tied former Red Rock Theresa Kulikowski in the Utah record books for most perfect scores in a career.
“It’s really satisfying again to see it up there,” she said afterward.
Utah managed the victory with a 197.750 score over Oregon State’s 196.100 for the Red Rocks’ fifth win of the season.
O’Keefe’s performance was no small part of that.
“It just continues to show the amount of work that she puts in and I don’t think you can ever have too many 10′s,” Red Rocks head coach Carly Dockendorf said of O’Keefe’s performance.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Maile O’Keefe gets hug form a team mate after scoring a 10 on the beam, in gymnastics action between Utah Red Rocks and Oregon State, at the Jon M. Huntsman Center, on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.
Utah started the evening off strong with fifth-year senior Jaedyn Rucker, who scored a 9.975 on vault. Grace McCallum then graced the judges with her 9.950 bars routine.
Along with O’Keefe’s perfect beam score, she also excelled in the floor rotation for the night with a 9.950.
“My motto for today was, ‘Cool, calm, and confident.’ That’s all I needed to do,” O’Keefe said.
The win over Oregon State did not come easy as the Red Rocks struggled at bars during the meet.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jaylene Gilatrap performs on the floor, in gymnastics action between Utah Red Rocks and Oregon State, at the Jon M. Huntsman Center, on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.
“I thought that bars was a little bit uncharacteristic with some of the mistakes,” Dockendorf said.
Utah was able to brush off those mistakes and took on the beam and floor with energy and confidence.
“I thought that the energy with the team was excellent tonight. It was really fun to see them,” Dockendorf said.
Utah will travel for the first time this season for next week’s meet at Washington.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Grace McCallum competes on the beam, in gymnastics action between Utah Red Rocks and Oregon State, at the Jon M. Huntsman Center, on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.
Top Red Rocks scores
Vault
• Rucker – 9.975 • Smith and Morgan – 9.925
Bars
• McCallum – 9.950
Beam
• O’Keefe – 10.0 • McCallum and Paulson – 9.925
Floor
• O’Keefe – 9.950
• Paulson – 9.925
• Gilstrap and McCallum – 9.900