As last Friday’s showdown with No. 6 Alabama drew closer with each passing day, the No. 24 Kentucky gymnastics team spent the week preparing for the biggest meet of the season. However, nobody was talking about the competition.”We’ve been talking about #CompeteForKylie,” said head coach Tim Garrison. “A young lady is 32 months old, and she has stage IV high-risk neuroblastoma.”In what was already scheduled to be UK’s second annual DanceBlue Meet, supporting the on-campus organization’s fight against pediatric cancer, Garrison’s Wildcats decided to further dedicate Friday to a girl whose story had personally impacted the entire gymnastics program. “It’s just something that was special to me,” Garrison said. “I brought it to the team and really put it to them. I said, ‘Listen, I would really like to do this. Is this something you guys would be interested in?’ They all said, ‘Yes. Absolutely.’ They were touched by it.”If history tells us anything, it’s safe to assume that Garrison knew he was barking up the right tree when he approached his team with the idea of dedicating Friday’s meet and every meet for the rest of the season to Kylie Rowand, who was diagnosed a year ago. She is the daughter of a gymnast Garrison coached in California. “We went over to the cancer unit at UK hospital and visited a little earlier in the year, read The Polar Express to them,” Garrison said. “So, (the team) is very aware of it, they’ve been touched by it personally. It’s extremely important to our team.”With a little inspiration from Kylie, Kentucky catapulted itself to a team score of 195.625 — a new season-high — versus the Crimson Tide. However, Alabama bested the Wildcats with a score of 196.700.”Competing against strong competition is always good,” said Garrison. “It sharpens you, it challenges you every week. That’s one thing we pride ourselves on, that we challenge ourselves.”But once each meet is over, his student-athletes are reminded of more important matters than bars and floor mats.”Once they get out on the floor, I think their focus is purely on competition, which is exactly where it should be,” Garrison said. “But, when they go in the locker room, they see #CompeteForKylie on the wall. On the door when they walk in, they see her picture. It definitely comes back to mind.”Kentucky will next travel to Columbia, Mo., to face the Missouri Tigers Friday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m. EST.This season, the Wildcats will #CompeteForKylie in each meet, and encourage their opponents to join the fight as well. More information on Kylie can be found on Facebook.