The University of Utah Red Rocks competed in their record 46th national championship on Saturday in the sport's Final Four, the "Four on the Floor."

After a Pac-12 title and navigating their way through the elimination rounds of the NCAA Regionals, Utah faced Oklahoma, Florida, and Auburn in the national championship. After jumping out to an early lead, the Red Rocks ultimately finished in 3rd place, behind the champions Oklahoma and runner up Florida Gators, with Auburn finishing 4th.

Here are the takeaways from the meet:

Utah started strong on their best events

The Red Rocks took advantage of starting on beam, scoring a 49.5125 to jump out to first place ahead of Auburn's 49.4250 on bars and Florida's 49.3500 on vault. Uncharacteristically, Oklahoma did not record a score above 9.9 on the floor and found themselves in last place at 49.1875 as the favorites coming into the meet. Led by Kara Eaker's 9.9500, Utah looked poised and confident to carry that initial momentum into their 2nd rotation on the floor.

Utah scored a respectable 49.4625 on the floor, where they were the number 2 team during the regular season. With Utah sitting at 98.975, Florida kept up the pace at 98.875 after 49.5250 on the bars. Oklahoma showed their resolve to not go down without a fight and roared back with a 49.6625 on vault to sit at 98.850 in third place. Auburn struggled a little on beam with a 49.200 to fall back into 4th place at 98.625. Utah's rotation was capped with a 9.9125 from an emotional Sydney Soloski, who finished her final routine as a Red Rock with throwing up "22" with her fingers.

Oklahoma took command

The 3rd rotation was ultimately the determining factor for the whole meet, as Utah did not have their best vault rotation and Oklahoma continued their momentum of great routines. A few steps and tough landings led Utah to a 49.200, which is not a bad score, but not strong enough to keep pace in the national title stage. Oklahoma threw down a 49.750 on bars to jump to into the lead at 148.575 with a healthy lead on Florida, who scored 49.500 on the beam. Utah managed to stay ahead of Auburn at 148.200 to their 148.0125, but the meet was down to Oklahoma and Florida. Despite the less than ideal vault rotation, Utah's Jaedyn Rucker put on a repeat performance of her national title vault from the other day with a near perfect 9.9750 in the middle of the lineup.

Utah finishes strong on bars as Oklahoma wins the national championship

After a disappointing 3rd rotation, Utah showed their resolve and finished strongly with a 49.550 on the bars. Unfortunately, Oklahoma and Florida continued their exceptional performances, scoring 49.6250 on beam and 49.7125 on floor, respectively. Florida kept the pressure on Oklahoma, and the meet came down to the final routines, but the Sooners were able to keep the Gators at arm's length to win by a score of 198.200 to 198.0875. Utah finished in third at 197.750 and Auburn finished at 197.350.

Most schools would love to be competing for national championships every season, but Utah has not stood atop the podium since 1995. Utah has been 2nd and 3rd multiple times over the years with individual champions on events, but head coach Tom Farden's ultimate goal is that team national championship. Look for them to reload in recruiting and to repeat as conference champs, but also look for ways to take that next step to compete for nationals for the 47th year in a row next season. Despite the Red Rocks' history being second to none, there is no school hungrier for a national title than the University of Utah.