OU Posts Nation’s Top Score in Win Over No. 8 California

NORMAN – Senior Ignacio Yockers earned two event titles as the No. 1 Oklahoma men's gymnastics team swept all six event titles on its way to a team total of 331.600 – the highest score in the nation this season – in a Senior Night win over No. 8 California (315.700) Saturday evening at McCasland Field House.

The Sooners eclipsed their previous nation-leading score of 331.300, set last week vs. No. 3 Nebraska, by three-tenths of a point.

Yockers won the pommel horse title with a 14.050 and the parallel bars title with a stuck 13.850. Junior Nico Hamilton won the floor exercise title for the second straight week with a 14.050.

Sophomore Francisco Velez Belendez won his third straight still rings title with a career-high 14.400, and junior Tyler Flores stuck a 14.500 to earn his second vault title of the season. Senior Kelton Christiansen ended the night with a stuck 14.150 on high bar to win the event title for the second straight week.

"I wasn't really expecting it to be a big night," Oklahoma head coach Mark Williams said. "We wanted to allow all of our seniors to have opportunities to compete, but the guys got on a roll and looked really good. High score for us on rings and we finished really well on high bar. One more meet before we get into the postseason and I hope we take that momentum into the postseason and have a chance to win some championships."

OU swept all six team events, posting a 54.700 on floor exercise, 56.000 on pommel horse, 56.000 on still rings, 56.350 on vault, 53.800 on parallel bars and 54.750 on high bar. Oklahoma's score on rings was a team high this season.

The Sooners posted the three highest scores on floor, with redshirt-senior Brigham Frentheway placing second with a season-high 13.950 and redshirt junior Leo Koike taking third with a season-high 13.850. OU also took the top four scores on pommel horse, with Flores and redshirt junior Mac Seyler tying for second (14.000) and senior Kelton Christiansen setting a new career high (13.950) for fourth.

The Sooners once again took the top four spots on rings, with Frentheway and junior Tas Hajdu tying for second (13.950) and Seyler in fourth with a career-high 13.700. Benas took second on vault with a stuck 14.400.

Hajdu earned a third-place finish on parallel bars with a career-high-tying 13.550. Hamilton placed second on high bar (13.700), and redshirt-sophomore Brandon Zepeda-Orth took third with his 13.600. Koike posted a 13.600 on high bar in an exhibition routine.

In all, Oklahoma set or tied 14 individual season highs and seven career-best marks. The Sooners registered eight scores of 14.000 or better and notched a 9.0 or better execution score on 10 routines.

The Sooners are now unbeaten against their last 81 regular season opponents, encompassing 68 consecutive regular season meets, inside McCasland Field House, dating back to the 2007 season. OU's only defeat in the field house during that time was in the 2024 MPSF Championship when it finished second to Stanford.

Team Scores

1. Oklahoma – 331.600

2. California – 315.700

Oklahoma Scores

Floor Exercise

Nico Hamilton – 14.050*

Brigham Frentheway – 13.950

Leo Koike – 13.850

Francisco Velez Belendez – 12.850

Pommel Horse

Ignacio Yockers– 14.050*

Tyler Flores – 14.000

Mac Seyler – 14.000

Kelton Cristiansen – 13.950

Still Rings

Francisco Velez Belendez – 14.400*

Tas Hajdu – 13.950

Brigham Frentheway – 13.950

Mac Seyler– 13.700

Vault

Sasha Bogonosiuk – 14.500*

Fuzzy Benas– 14.400

Leo Koike – 13.850

Brigham Frentheway – 13.600

Parallel Bars

Ignacio Yockers – 13.850

Tas Hajdu – 13.550

Nathan Roman– 13.250

Fuzzy Benas – 13.150

High Bar

Kelton Christiansen – 14.150*

Nico Hamilton – 13.700

Brandon Zepeda-Orth – 13.600

Brigham Frentheway – 13.300

*Event Winner

OU Event Totals

Floor Exercise – 54.700

Pommel Horse – 56.000

Still Rings – 56.000

Vault – 56.350

Parallel Bars – 53.800

High Bar – 54.750

Up Next

Oklahoma will take a week off from competition, before heading to Berkely, Calif., for a rematch with California. It is the regular season finale and will take place on March 21 at 6 p.m. CT.