One of Boise State’s top athletes is out for the season — and the Olympics — with injury
Boise State is in search of its sixth straight Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference championship but, for the second year in a row, the Broncos are chasing the title without their top all-around performer.
Team captain and 2019 all-round conference champion Courtney McGregor will be on the sideline in crutches during Friday’s home opener against BYU (7 p.m.) after she suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon, which will force her to miss the rest of her senior season.
She was injured on her first vault of the season during the Broncos’ season opener Jan. 12 at UCLA, and she knew right away that it wasn’t going to be a quick recovery.
“I knew as soon as I punched the board because I felt a pop,” McGregor said Thursday. “I did a half twist so I didn’t have to land and then I was just kind of sitting there on my butt and I knew.”
McGregor’s injury also took her out of contention for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. She competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she finished 13th in the vault while representing New Zealand.
“I was going to try to qualify through the Continental Championships in New Zealand, so that would have been really cool to compete at home for that Olympic spot,” McGregor said. “But it’s sports and these things happen. It’s not the end of the world.”
Last year, the Broncos lost two-time MRGC Gymnast of the Year Shani Remme to a torn ACL nine meets into the season.
“It’s the nature of college athletics, but it gives our younger players more experience,” Boise State coach Tina Bird said. “They have to jump in and fill roles that maybe they didn’t anticipate filling right away, so that makes us stronger for next year.”
McGregor was one of those gymnasts who stepped up last season in Remme’s absence. She notched her highest all-around score of the season at the conference championship meet to help the Broncos qualify for the NCAA regionals for the 12th straight season.
“We were really excited for her, especially with the Olympics in the same year, just to buckle down and have a great college season and then to build on that for her international career,” Bird said. ”So it was devastating when she got hurt.”
Bird said McGregor’s experience in international competition is part of what makes her so hard to replace.
“She’s definitely a force because she’s so calm and experienced,” Bird said. “She didn’t travel with us this past weekend and we totally missed her. She just has a calming presence. She’s very businesslike and confident, and I think that rubs off on everybody.”
The Christchurch, New Zealand, native had surgery last week and isn’t able to put any weight on her left foot, but she’s still in the Broncos’ facilities most days doing what she can to help the team.
“I’m still a team captain, so I’m still cheering them on and helping out any way I can,” McGregor said. “Because we were in a similar situation last year, the girls know they have to be ready to step up in case something like this happens.”
Bird said it’s probably going to take four athletes to fill McGregor’s role, especially against No. 15 BYU (5-2, 4-0 MRGC), which will be the third ranked program the Broncos have faced this season.
“They’re a great team, so we’re just looking to focus on ourselves and try to get a lot of landings to try to make up for the deficit in where we should be at this point in the season,” Bird said.
Boise State (2-2, 0-0 MRGC) fell out of the top 25 this week but, at No. 28, the Broncos could claw their way back in with a strong score against BYU.
In search of leadership, they’ll turn to another senior with international experience and a junior, who ranks among the best in the country on bars.
Junior Emily Muhlenhaupt ranks No. 3 in the country with an average score of 9.942 on bars, according to Road to Nationals — the official ranking system of collegiate gymnastics. She trails a pair of UCLA Bruins: Kyla Ross (9.975) and Madison Kocian (9.950).
“She’s just been getting better every year, and I think this is going to be her year in terms of consistency and leadership,” Bird said.
Senior co-captain Isabella Amado represented Panama in the 2016 Olympics and finished 44th in the all-around. Last season, she won an MRGC championship on the beam.
This year, she leads the Broncos’ beam lineup, which ranks No. 18 in the country, and Bird said Amado’s mentality has a similar effect on the team as McGregor’s.
“She’s got that same calm confidence going into competition that rubs off on everybody,” Bird said.
