Van Wicklen Sweeps Gymnast of the Week Awards

NORMAN – After being named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Gymnast of the Week on Tuesday, University of Oklahoma men's gymnastics senior Colin Van Wicklen made it a clean sweep of weekly honors when he was tabbed the NCAA Gymnast of the Week on Wednesday.

Van Wicklen competed in the all-around for the first time this season in the Sooners' 425.550 – 394.850 home win over Air Force on Saturday. He posted an 84.500 to help push OU to its fifth team score of at least 425 in as many meets. The Sooners' five team scores this season are the five highest in NCAA gymnastics this year.

A Sooner gymnast has swept the MPSF and NCAA Gymnast of the Week awards awards after four of Oklahoma's five meets this season.

The Sooner co-captain was rock solid on every event, with his strongest marks coming on parallel bars and high bar. A native of Magnolia, Texas, Van Wicklen scored a career-best 14.500 on parallel bars to place second on the event. He also placed second on high bar with a score of 14.750. Van Wicklen added another second-place finish on floor with a mark of 14.250.

A Sooner gymnast has swept the weekly awards after four of Oklahoma's five meets this season.

Van Wicklen has now won the MPSF weekly honor three times in his career. He twice was named MPSF Gymnast of the Week as a freshman in 2014. This is his first time as NCAA Gymnast of the Week. The 2016 NCAA national champion on floor, Van Wicklen currently ranks second nationally on high bar with a 3-score average of 14.667.

Van Wicklen and the Sooners are back in action this weekend as they travel to Palo Alto, Calif., as they are set to face No. 2 Stanford in a 6 p.m. CT meet.

“It's just going to be intense all week,” Van Wicklen said of the impending showdown with the Cardinal. “It's No. 1 vs. No. 2 in their house. That's what sports are all about. We're just going to be fired up and ready to go. We'll put out our best lineup and see what happens.”

Oklahoma's schedule is grueling in the month of March. After their No. 1-vs.-No. 2 showdown against SU, the Sooners return to host No. 4 Ohio State at McCasland on March 11 and then host No. 3 Illinois on March 18 in a meet that will serve as senior night. Both remaining home meets are slated for 6:50 p.m. CT starts.

Tickets for OU's upcoming home meets are available for purchase online or by calling the OU Athletics Tickets Office at (405) 325-2424 or toll-free at (800) 456-GoOU.