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On a night that felt like a turning point for a rising non-Power Four program, the United States Air Force Academy women’s gymnastics team delivered the best performance in school history. Competing at home inside Cadet West Gym on February 6, 2026, the Falcons scored a program-record 195.800 to win a tri meet over Utah State and Alaska Anchorage, reaffirming their status as a factor in the national women’s gymnastics landscape.
The record performance highlighted how far United States Air Force Academy has pushed its women’s gymnastics standard in back-to-back seasons, and it came against a quality field headlined by a nationally ranked Utah State squad. For recruits, families, and coaches watching the balance between academics, military commitment, and Division I sport, this meet offered a clear message: Air Force gymnastics can compete with anyone in the Mountain West and beyond.
Air Force entered the home tri meet with momentum but also something to prove after a frustrating result the previous week. Facing Utah State, ranked No. 27 nationally in the Road To Nationals poll, and visiting Alaska Anchorage, the Falcons responded with the best four-event total they have ever produced.
Final team scores:
Event by event, the Falcons stacked consistently strong rotations:
Utah State answered with 48.725 on vault, 48.950 on bars, 48.550 on beam and a powerful 49.175 on floor, but Air Force’s balance across all four events proved decisive. The 195.800 is not only a program record, it also moved the Falcons to 9-3 on the season and a perfect 6-0 at home in Cadet West Gym.
For context, in women’s collegiate gymnastics, mid-195 scores are often the threshold for postseason relevance at the Division I level, especially for programs outside the sport’s traditional power centers. According to NCAA championship and ranking data, teams living in the 195+ range across the season are commonly in the mix for NCAA regional qualification (https://www.ncaa.com/sports/gymnastics-women).
Junior all-around star Maggie Slife once again led the way for Air Force, turning in a 39.375 all-around performance that set the tone and the standard for the entire meet. She topped a Falcons podium sweep in the all-around, with sophomore Alyssa Bigler scoring a career-high 39.325 and senior captain Kylee Greene posting a career-best 39.200.
Slife’s night was exceptional even by her own high standards. She claimed at least a share of first place on three of the four events and saved the biggest moment for the uneven bars. Anchoring one of the best bars lineups in program history, Slife stuck her full-twisting double back dismount and was rewarded with a 9.975.
That score did more than win the event:
Slife entered the meet already in elite company. She had just been named Mountain West Gymnast of the Week for the fourth time this season and had also collected Bars Specialist and Floor Specialist of the Week honors, reflecting her status as one of the top performers in the conference and the country. According to Air Force’s own updates, she currently ranks among the nation’s top ten all-arounders and top ten bar workers, and is the highest-ranked non-Power Four gymnast in those categories.
For aspiring college gymnasts, Slife’s trajectory is a clear example of how a high-level athlete can thrive at a service academy while still competing at a near-national-title standard on individual events. She has become both a recruiting beacon and a competitive cornerstone for United States Air Force Academy gymnastics.
The Falcons opened the evening on vault with a 48.700, establishing a steady foundation instead of taking early risks. That measured approach proved smart against a Utah State squad known for its vaulting power.
Sophomore all-arounder Alyssa Bigler delivered a season-best 9.825 to share the event title with Utah State’s standout vaulter Nyla Morabito. Tying one of the conference’s premier vaulters head-to-head underscored Bigler’s growing impact within the Mountain West.
Air Force added important supporting scores from veterans and depth pieces:
The 48.700 was not a record in itself, but in a high-pressure meet with a ranked opponent, it was exactly the kind of solid opening rotation that allowed Air Force to build momentum toward its historic total.
The meet’s pivotal moment came in the second rotation on the uneven bars. Air Force’s 49.225 was not only enough to separate the Falcons from their tri-meet rivals, it also ranks as the third-best bars score in program history.
Slife’s record-setting 9.975 was the headline, but the lineup around her showed the depth that has elevated Air Force from a solid regional program to a legitimate contender for higher national placement:
When a team can drop a mid‑9.7 and still land north of 49.200, it signals real lineup stability. For recruits, coaches, and club gymnasts evaluating college options, this kind of bars depth suggests that lineups at Air Force are no longer built around a single specialist. Instead, the Falcons have multiple athletes capable of 9.8+ routines, which makes it harder for any one fall or wobble to derail a meet.
Nationally, collegiate programs that can reliably score 49+ on bars week after week tend to be in the conversation for NCAA regionals and, in stronger conferences, national seeding. Air Force hitting 49.225 against top‑30 competition is a statement that the Falcons’ ceiling is rising.
If bars gave Air Force separation, balance beam helped lock in the record. The Falcons scored a 48.975 on beam, their best on that event since a 49.100 at home in January of the previous season. That kind of score signals a return to the blend of poise and execution that powered last year’s program record and now this season’s new high.
Key contributions on beam included:
Beam is often called the “great equalizer” in college gymnastics, and for good reason. One or two major mistakes can erase huge advantages gained on other events. Air Force’s ability to nearly crack 49 again at home, after a tougher outing the previous week, speaks to psychological resilience as much as physical skill.
The meet closed on floor exercise, with both Air Force and Utah State making their final push. The Falcons posted a 48.900, a performance defined more by consistency than by a single huge number, while Utah State turned in a strong 49.175 that showcased the Aggies’ floor strength.
Air Force’s floor leaders:
Utah State junior Isabella Vater matched Slife with a 9.900 to share the event title, highlighting the Aggies’ competitive fire even in a narrow team loss. But the Falcons’ ability to avoid counting major breaks, combined with earlier strength on beam and bars, kept them in front as the scores were tallied.
What made this record performance even more meaningful was the context. Just one week earlier, Air Force had finished third in a quad meet at Boise State that also included Utah State and Sacramento State. The Falcons’ 194.225 there was well below what head coach Jennifer Green believed the team was capable of, with mental errors and missed opportunities playing a significant role.
In the days following that meet, the Falcons emphasized details and “road readiness” in training, focusing on the little things that separate a 194 from a 195.8: stick landings, confident body language, and staying locked in after small mistakes.
Back in the familiar environment of Cadet West Gym, those adjustments were obvious. Routines looked crisper, athletes stayed composed after bobbles, and lineup tweaks paid off. Green praised the tri-meet turnaround as a total team effort, emphasizing that the Falcons did not panic after small missteps and instead trusted their training across all four events.
For recruits and club coaches, this kind of bounce-back performance matters. It shows a program culture that values accountability, process-based improvement, and mental toughness. Those traits are especially critical in an environment like the Air Force Academy, where athletes balance sport with rigorous academic and military obligations.
February 6 marked the second straight season in which Air Force women’s gymnastics has broken its own all-time team record. The Falcons first set the previous program mark with a 195.775 at home on January 31 of the 2025 season. A year later, they have now raised that standard again to 195.800.
At a service academy, where cadets are completing intensive military training in addition to Division I athletics and a demanding academic schedule, sustained performance gains can be especially meaningful. The United States Air Force Academy is widely recognized for its leadership and officer development mission, and the success of teams like women’s gymnastics highlights the depth of talent being drawn to that environment.
For prospective student-athletes, this combination of high-level gymnastics and military education is unique. Air Force offers:
Viewed in the broader context of NCAA women’s gymnastics, Air Force is one of several rising programs showing that high-scoring teams can emerge from outside the sport’s most publicized conferences. Resources like the NCAA’s institutional profiles and the Road To Nationals rankings make it easier for recruits to see where schools like Air Force fit into the broader competitive picture (https://www.ncaa.com/schools).
For high school gymnasts and club coaches, this meet provides a real-time case study of what is possible at Air Force:
If you are exploring college gymnastics programs broadly, tools like the Pathley Gymnastics Hub can help you compare options, see which schools are strong in your preferred events, and understand academic and campus fit alongside athletic opportunity.
Once you have a shortlist, Pathley’s College Fit Snapshot lets you run a free fit analysis on specific schools. You can see how you align with a program’s academics, athletics, and overall environment on one clear PDF, then use that to shape your outreach to college coaches.
With a 9-3 record and a perfect 6-0 mark at home, Air Force will not have much time to enjoy its new record. Next up is a major road test at the Metroplex Challenge in Fort Worth, where the Falcons are slated to face California, Stanford, and Georgia in a high-profile quad meet.
That lineup places Air Force alongside long-established names in NCAA women’s gymnastics. Meets like the Metroplex Challenge serve multiple purposes:
For the Falcons, the goal will be to bring the poise and execution they showed in Cadet West Gym onto a neutral floor, continuing to build their season average and postseason résumé. For prospects watching from home, it is another chance to evaluate how Air Force stacks up against some of the sport’s blue bloods.
If this performance has you curious about Air Force or other gymnastics programs, you do not have to navigate the search alone. Pathley was built specifically to help athletes and families make sense of the college recruiting landscape.
Air Force’s record-breaking 195.800 shows what is possible when a strong culture, elite individual talent, and deep lineups come together at a service academy. If you are a gymnast who wants high-level Division I competition alongside serious academic and leadership preparation, this is exactly the kind of performance that should prompt a closer look.
Whether you are interested in discovering more colleges, comparing programs, or building a realistic target list, Pathley’s AI tools can help you turn big goals into a focused, actionable recruiting plan.
