OU Puts More on Podium on Winter Cup Day Two

NORMAN — Current and former University of Oklahoma gymnasts concluded competition at the 2019 Winter Cup Challenge on Sunday evening in Las Vegas, Nev. The Sooners put one more gymnast on the U.S. Senior Men's National Team with Colin Van Wicklen being added to the 12-man team.

Highlights from day two included 2017 OU alum Van Wicklen and current Sooners senior Levi Anderson bringing home two podium finishes apiece on vault and high bar.

Van Wicklen claimed gold on vault with a two-day total of 29.650, while Anderson (29.200) took bronze. The two finished second and third on high bar, respectively, with two-day tallies of 27.800 and 27.700.

“I was really happy with Colin and Levi both having good days in the all-around,” said OU head coach Mark Williams. “They both put up good scores on vault and high bar. I think they've been in a position to be national team members and proved it by not only their work as all-arounders but points on specific events that they would be helpful on. They performed well. Vitaliy did a really good job on floor and vault and did a great job in his first senior competition. Overall, I was happy with our team performing well all weekend. I felt like it was a real success.”

Along with the two top-three event finishes, Van Wicklen (164.250) and Anderson (162.550) collected respective finishes of second and third in the two-day all-around standings. Additionally, Van Wicklen placed in the top 10 on two other events, placing fourth on still rings (27.650) and sixth on parallel bars (27.150). Anderson notched a third top-10 spot on rings with a two-day mark of 26.750.

Also competing in day two's finals session was OU senior Yul Moldauer and freshman Vitaliy Guimaraes. Competing just one event after claiming the Winter Cup all-around title on Friday, Moldauer put up a 13.050 on pommel horse to bring his two-day total to 27.150 on the event, good for fourth on the weekend. Guimaraes participated on floor, pommel and vault on Sunday. The freshman claimed two top-10 event finishes in his first senior competition with respective finishes of fifth (27.750) and ninth (28.550) on floor and vault.

With the addition of Van Wicklen to the U.S. Senior Men's National Team, Oklahoma gymnasts occupy four of the 12 roster spots on the American squad. Moldauer, 2017 OU graduate Allan Bower and current Sooners senior Genki Suzuki secured their spots on Friday with respective finishes of first, third and fourth in the day one all-around session.

The No. 1 ranked OU men's gymnastics team returns to NCAA competition Saturday, Feb. 23, for a top-three matchup against the No. 3 Michigan Wolverines at McCasland Field House in Norman. The meet will serve as Cleveland Elementary Day, with Cleveland Elementary students in Norman receiving free admission and T-shirts. Fans are encouraged to wear white as the OU squad looks to "white out" the Field House stands. Tickets can be found here.

For updates and more information on Oklahoma men's gymnastics, follow the Sooners on Twitter and Instagram (@OU_MGymnastics) and like Oklahoma Men's Gymnastics on Facebook.