Denver gymnastics finished their last home meet of the season with a win over Arizona State (196.7 to 195.575). Denver was undefeated at home in 2025! The team honored their four 5th year (COVID eligibility) athletes and their two seniors.

But even more than honoring their seniors, the team made a dream come true for 11 year-old Parker boy, Matthew Conklin. Grandview High School in Aurora teamed up with Dream on 3 (dreamon3.org) to grant Matthew’s biggest dream to attend the SEC gymnastics championship. Dream on 3 makes sports-themed dreams come true for kids living with life-altering conditions. Not only did Grandview High raise enough money to send Matthew to Birmingham later this month, but they made special arrangements for Matthew to be honored at Magness.

Matthew’s mother, Jennifer, had this to say:

I have so many words of gratefulness for the entire DU team and coordinators of today’s events! Today was a dream come true! The crazy thing was this was just an extra perk that Grandview High School students arranged. I had no idea we were going to meet the team, hug the coaches, be on the floor, and be treated like royalty. Matthew loves gymnastics and felt so honored today.

What was probably something small and simple to the DU student athletes, is now a lifetime memory for a kid who loves our sport. Matthew’s smile, while yelling “Go DU” with hype man, Tom, lit up Magness. I applaud the Grandview students for making the day happen for Matthew, and the Denver gymnasts for welcoming him onto the floor. Dream on 3 reminds us all that sport is more than wins and losses.

But since this is a sports blog about Denver athletic performance, let’s talk about the competition. While the team was not perfect, Denver avoided counting any falls. Beam continues to plague Denver gymnastics. The team score of 48.725 was the lowest since the end of January. Bars continues to be the team’s best event. Vault is the most consistent event. And the team hit a season high on Floor, although sophomore Madison Ulrich’s 9.925 was a bit of a gift (we’ll take it). The team trends are hard to summarize other than to say it’s been a season of ups and downs. They are certainly not where they’d like to be by now, but they can’t be counted out just yet.

February saw DU hit season high team scores three weeks in a row. And in March they have settled into scores of 196.75 and 196.7. Their 196.705 NQS has them staying at #18 going into week 11. In comparison, Denver had a NQS of 197.58 at this point of the 2024 season. Denver will likely not get a seeded position for regional competition, which hopefully will mean they don’t have to travel far for a “regional” but who knows how NCAA gymnastics will decide.

Featured image, courtesy @Denver_Gymnastics and @denverpioneers.