PROVO -- More than 7,000 fans showed up for BYU's public spring scrimmage on Saturday afternoon at Edwards Stadium.
The team participated in a modifed practice, running a few warm-up drills, some 7-on-7 work and ended the day with about 40 plays of full 11-on-11 scrimmage time.
After the practice session fans were invited to the field to meet coaches and players for autographs and photos.
Many starters, including QB Riley Nelson, held out of the scrimmage portion due to injuries or as preventative measures.
Quarterbacks James Lark, Ammon Olsen and Taysom Hill took two series under center.
On the defensive side of the ball, Ezekiel Ansah was constantly getting into the backfield, batting down a pass and picking up a sack. Defensive back Mike Hague intercepted a pass from Alex Kuresa earlier in the scrimmage.
Coach Bronco Mendenhall will have one more week of spring ball before resuming official practices in the fall.
Gymnastics
* UTES FALL, FINISH SECOND AT PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS: Utah's women's gymnastics team was edged out by UCLA on Saturday in the Pac-12 gymnastics championships at the Huntsman Center.
With more than 10,000 fans cheering them on, the Utes had several balance beam miscues cost them.
UCLA, a 15-time Pac-10 champion, won with a 197.425. The Utes were second with a 197.375, Oregon State was third (197.025) and Stanford was fourth (196.825).
In the afternoon sessions, Arizona posted a 195.9 followed by Arizona State (194.55), Washington (194.125) and California (193.525).
* UTAH STATE FIFTH AT WAC CHAMPIONSHIPS: Utah State gymnastics notched its second-best score of the season with a 194.775 on the way to a fifth-place finish at the Western Athletic Conference Championships Saturday at the Smith Spectrum.
Denver won the team title with a 196.350, while Sacramento State was second with a 195.675. Southern Utah was third with a 195.025, while San Jose State was fourth with a 194.800 and USU was fifth.
The Aggies' fifth-place finish matches last year's finish, while the 194.775 score was their second-best WAC Championships score behind a 195.175 in 2007 at Cedar City, Utah, hosted by Southern Utah, site of next year's WAC Championships.
SJSU's Thomasina Wallace was named the WAC Gymnast of the Year, as well as the all-around champion with a 39.400.
The Aggies now await the announcement for the NCAA Regional Championships field to find out if they will be sending any individuals to the North Central Regional Championships in Salt Lake City on April 7.
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