Three Sooners in Top 10 after Day One

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After day one of competition at the 2019 U.S. Gymnastics Championships, three Sooners hold top-10 spots in the all-around standings heading into the final day on Saturday.

Recent OU graduate and current U.S. senior national team member Yul Moldauer sits in second place with an 84.000 all-around tally, current Sooners junior Matt Wenske (80.950) holds eighth and 2017 grad Allan Bower (80.650) ranks 10th.

Three other Sooners hold spots between 10th and 20th. Recent graduate Levi Anderson put up 78.750 in the all-around to rank 14th, while current Sooners junior Gage Dyer (77.950) and 2016 graduate Kanji Oyama (77.150) sit 16th and 20th, respectively.

“Matt was having one of the best meets he's had. Even with his fall on vault, he's right there in the top 10, that was awesome,” said Oklahoma head coach Mark Williams. “Allan had a high bar routine that he would like to take back, but otherwise it wasn't a bad day for him. Yul started off great, probably not his best last few events, but he's still fighting and getting back in shape. He didn't give it away, so we're happy he's in the mix.

“Another day on Saturday, things get shuffled around one more time we just have to come out, be strong, be aggressive and see how things pan out after we finish 12 events.”

All rotating together aside from Oyama, who trains at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center, the Sooners contingent started the meet on parallel bars. Moldauer put up his highest score of the evening, a stuck 14.800 that ranked as the second-highest score on the event of the evening.

“I hit six-for-six (routines), but it probably wasn't my best performance,” said Moldauer following day one. “I'm happy I hit everything, but there's plenty of room for improvements on day two.”

Moldauer led the Sooners again in the second rotation with a 13.550, followed closely by Anderson's 13.450. The scores rank as the fourth- and fifth-best tallies on the event after the first day.

Moving to floor exercise in the third rotation, Moldauer and Dyer grabbed the top OU scores with respective routines of 14.300 and 14.250. Wenske registered his first 14-plus of the night with a 14.150 set.

On pommel horse in the fourth rotation, Bower showcased his skills on the apparatus with a clean 14.350 routine that puts him fourth on the event heading into Saturday. In the fifth rotation on still rings, Wenske and Moldauer each put up respectable scores of 13.350.

The final rotation for five of the six Sooners was vault. Moldauer and Bower paced the group with 14.300 vaults. All five Sooners in the rotation went 14-plus aside from Wenske, who sustained a foot injury after a fall that resulted in a 13.550. His status for Saturday has yet to be determined by Williams.

Along with Wenske's status, current U.S. Senior National Team member Colin Van Wicklen was unable to compete on Thursday due to a head injury that occurred during warmups and is doubtful for Saturday's final day of competition.

In the junior division, incoming OU freshmen Laz Barnhill and Jack Freeman hold sixth and 10th in the junior all-around standings with respective scores of 76.300 and 75.350.

Barnhill finished day one in a tie for the top pommel horse score, while Freeman holds a tie for the top floor exercise score.

The USA Gymnastics meet resumes for the men on Saturday as the final day of competition begins at 1 p.m. CT for the juniors and 6:30 p.m. for the senior men. The senior meet will be broadcast live on NBCSN, while the junior competition is available via livestream.

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.