Pair of Sooners Named Conference Award Winners

Big 12 Award Winners
Gymnast of the Week Maggie Nichols - Fr. - Little Canada, Minn. - Set the OU program record with all-around score of 39.875 - Recorded the first perfect 10.0 of her career, doing so on vault - Posted the highest score of the meet on all four events and in the all-around
Event Specialist of the Week AJ Jackson - Jr. - Belton, Mo. - Tallied a pair of 9.95s on vault and floor in OU's win over West Virginia - Floor score matched her career high and tied for the second-best mark on the event at the meet

NORMAN — Fresh off impressive road performances, freshman Maggie Nichols and junior AJ Jackson have been tabbed as the Big 12 Gymnast of the Week and Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week, respectively, the conference announced Monday.

Both Nichols and Jackson were impactful in OU's 197.925 to 195.550 conference victory against West Virginia. They were part of OU's vault lineup that posted a season-best 49.550, matching the eighth-best total on the event in program history. On floor, they helped the Sooners to a huge 49.650, the highest mark in the nation this season on the event and tied for the fifth-best total in program history.

This marks the third time that Nichols has been recognized by the Big 12 this season, earning Newcomer of the Week accolades the first two weeks, while Jackson has grabbed her respective honor for the second straight week.

Nichols etched her name in the OU record books as she posted a 39.875 in the all-around, setting the program record. The freshman soared to the highest score of the meet on each event, including the first perfect 10.0 of her career after she stuck her Yurchenko 1 1/2 vault. She became just the second true freshman in OU history to post a 10.0 on any event, joining teammate Brenna Dowell, who tallied a perfect score on bars in 2014.

Additionally, Nichols added career-best marks of 9.975 on both floor and beam and contributed a 9.925 on bars en route to the record. According to records from RoadtoNationals.com dating back to 1998, Nichols' all-around score ties the best ever by a freshman. Nichols is currently ranked first nationally in the all-around with 39.783 average, and comes in first on bars, beam and floor and tied for the top spot on vault.

On both vault and floor, Jackson contributed a pair of season-best 9.95s to aid the Sooners to the win. Her floor score matched her career high and tied for the second-best mark on the event at the meet, while her vault score was also the second highest on the event. The Belton, Mo., native is currently tied for eighth nationally on vault and 10th on floor.

Up next, the Sooners will face a Big 12 foe on the road for a second straight weekend, taking on Iowa State at 6:30 p.m. CT on Friday in Ames, Iowa. The Oklahoma wrestling team will compete at the same time as the meet is part of Iowa State's Beauty and the Beast event. The competition will air through Cyclones.tv.