Recruiting Breakdown: Boise State Adds Five, Aims To Build On Historic 2017

Recruiting Breakdown: Boise State Adds Five, Aims To Build On Historic 2017

Get to know the newest Boise State gymnasts who will take the floor in the 2018 season.

Jul 24, 2017 by Lauren Green
Recruiting Breakdown: Boise State Adds Five, Aims To Build On Historic 2017
​The 2018 NCAA gymnastics season is still months away, but it's never too early to get to know the incoming freshman class for each team. Here's a breakdown of the new additions Boise State has made for next year.

Boise State had a historic season in 2017. The Broncos posted a program-record 197.675 in its final regular season meet of the season. They hit the 197 mark four times, including a pair of early-season contests against Southern Utah and Denver. Boise State was ranked in the top 10, including a program-high seventh. The Broncos narrowly missed out on a chance to advance to the NCAA championships for the first time in school history by less than five-tenths of a point.

​Outgoing: ​Mackenzie Brennion, Diana Mejia, Paige Urquhart
The Broncos lose up to seven routines from the three seniors -- two each from Mejia (bars and beam) and Urquhart (beam and floor), and up to three from Brennion (vault, bars, and floor). Mejia was a stellar performer for Boise State, especially on uneven bars where she scored a 9.900 or better six times in 11 routines. Urquhart was consistent on both beam and floor where she brought in scores in the 9.800 range. Brennion was also quite consistent and scored a 9.775 or better in 24 of 29 routines this season.

​Incoming: ​Tatum Bruden, Emily Muhlenhaupt, Rachel Obmann, Gabriela Bouza-Lazo, Tessa Otuafi

Tatum Bruden

Peoria, Arizona
Trains at Arizona Sunrays Gymnastics
Coached by Dan Wiltenstein

Bruden is a four-time JO national championship qualifier. She took 13th in the all-around and tied for ninth on uneven bars in 2017. She was the Region 1 champion in the all-around and on balance beam in 2017 where she also finished third on vault and floor and third on uneven bars. She took ninth and 14th on floor exercise at the 2016 and 2015 JO National Championships, respectively. Bruden earned regional titles on floor (2016) and balance beam (2015), and was a two-time silver medalist on vault (2015 and 2016). She grabbed state titles on floor (2017) and in the all-around (2016).
​Impact event: All-around

Emily Muhlenhaupt

Colorado Springs, Colorado
Trains at Colorado Aerials
Coached by Kathy Vigil and Jason Baits

Muhlenhaupt was the Colorado state champion on the uneven bars and finished ninth on balance beam in 2017 after missing the end of the 2016 season with an injury. She took eighth in the all-around and third on uneven bars at the 2015 JO National Championships. She was the regional champion on uneven bars and also earned sixth on vault. The Colorado Springs native was fifth in the all-around at the state championships, where she also took silver on uneven bars, tied for fifth on balance beam, and finished sixth on floor exercise. Muhlenhaupt missed most of 2014 with an injury, including the Secret U.S. Classic. She competed in the 2013 Secret U.S. Classic after qualifying as a junior elite.

​Video courtesy of Mike Muhlenhaupt

​Impact event: Uneven bars

Rachel Obmann

Roseville, California
Trains at Byers Roseville Gymnastics
Coached by Rhonda Hawkins and JD MacDonald

Obmann took the bronze medal on vault at the 2017 Region 1 championships and finished seventh on uneven bars. She earned silver (2015) and bronze (2016) on floor at regionals. She was the Northern California all-around champion in 2016 and has earned state titles on vault (2016), uneven bars (2016) and floor exercise (2015). Obmann took silver on floor and bronze on balance beam at the 2016 Northern California state championships.

​Video courtesy of Rachel Obmann

​Impact events: Floor exercise and vault

Gabriela Bouza-Lazo

Arizona
Trains at Arizona Dynamics Gymnastics

Bouza-Lazo competed at the 2017 JO National Championships where her best finish was on vault; she placed 17th. She earned seventh in the all-around, third on balance beam, eighth on uneven bars, and ninth on vault in the Region 1 championships. She was sixth in the all-around at the Arizona state championships where she also took bronze on both vault and bars and finished eighth on both balance beam and floor exercise.

​Video courtesy of Gabriela Bouza-Lazo

Impact events:
 Uneven bars and balance beam

Tessa Otuafi

Reno, Nevada
Trains at Flips USA Gymnastics

Otuafi was sixth on both vault and floor at the 2016 Region 1 Championships. She took ninth in the all-around, fifth on beam and vault, eighth on floor, and 11th on bars at the Nevada state championships in 2016. She took 11th on vault at regionals in 2015. She finished fifth in the all-around and earned silver on both vault and balance beam. She took sixth on uneven bars and grabbed ninth on floor exercise at the 2014 Nevada State Championships.

​Video courtesy of Tessa Otuafi

​Impact event: Vault