Sooners Steady at No. 1 After Idle Week

NORMAN – The Oklahoma men's gymnastics team is No. 1 in the Week 6 rankings with an average team score of 323.613 following a week off from competition.

The Sooners rank ahead of No. 2 Stanford (322.433), while No. 3 Nebraska (316.700), No. 4 Michigan (316.420) and No. 5 Ohio State (315.838) round out the top five. Rankings are based on the average of a team's scores this season.

OU holds first place on pommel horse (54.813) and high bar (53.200). The Sooners rank second on floor exercise (53.900), parallel bars (53.388) and vault (55.513), and sit third on still rings (52.800).

Oklahoma has three gymnasts ranked No. 1 on individual events, with sophomore Colby Aranda ranked at the top on pommel horse (14.183), junior Tyler Flores on vault (14.400) and freshman Nathan Roman on parallel bars (14.175).

Freshman Sasha Bogonosiuk is ranked fifth on floor exercise (13.833), redshirt sophomore Arthur Ballon ranks sixth (13.700), redshirt senior Fuzzy Benas is eighth (13.667) and junior Leo Koike ranks ninth (13.575). Senior Ignacio Yockers sits third on pommel horse (14.088).

Sophomore Francisco Velez Belendez ranks fourth on still rings (13.800), and junior Tas Hajdu is seventh (13.617). Bogonosiuk is ranked third on vault (14.300), while Benas is tied for eighth on parallel bars (13.550).

Redshirt junior Brandon Zepeda-Orth ranks fifth on high bar (13.775), senior Kelton Christiansen is sixth (13.750) and Benas sits eighth (13.600). Bogonosiuk ranks third in the all-around (79.650).

Up Next

Oklahoma is off next weekend before Benas, Bogonosiuk and Roman take part in USA Gymnastics Winter Cup, which will be held Feb. 21-22 in Louisville, Ky. Alumnus Yul Moldauer and signees Dante Reive and Hunter Simpson are also qualified for Winter Cup.

The Sooners return to McCasland Field House on Feb. 28 to face No. 5 Nebraska. The meet is set to begin at 6 p.m. CT, with introductions at 5:45 p.m. It will be Educator Appreciation Night and Greek Night, featuring an OU hat giveaway and $2 takeover (beer, soda and popcorn). The team will sign autographs after the meet.

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.

Players Mentioned

Colby Aranda

Arthur Ballon

Fuzzy Benas

Sasha Bogonosiuk

Kelton Christiansen

Tyler Flores

Tas Hajdu

Leo Koike

Nathan Roman

Francisco Velez Belendez

Ignacio Yockers

Brandon Zepeda-Orth