Big 12 Gymnastics Week 3 Recap: Iowa State snags first win, Oklahoma with another nation best
What a weekend! With new records being set and teams settling in, it’s safe to say the Big 12 gymnastics season is in full swing. All five teams were impressive, but they’re also far from complacent, as their conference adversaries are finding their grove and looking to advance as the season continues.
BYU @ Iowa State
Final score: Iowa State: 196.900 – BYU: 196.125
Iowa State
The Cougars and the Cyclones started the weekend off on Friday, with Iowa State gaining their first win of the season (196.900) and BYU falling short (196.125). Both teams achieved milestones: BYU achieved a season-high 196.125, and the win for Iowa State gained the team its first victory of the season and marked the team’s highest score since 2021. The Cyclones also set season highs on every event.
“I am so proud of this team. The grit that they showed out there was unbelievable to watch. This is just the tip of the iceberg for us. It’s going to be a fun season for Iowa State gymnastics,” head coach Ashley Miles Greig said.
Freshman Noelle Adams led the way once again, but this time with two high scores for the night: 9.9s on both vault and floor. Adams tied with junior Josie Bergstrom on vault.
On bars, two back-to-back 9.9s were put up by seniors Lauren Thomas (career high) and Laura Cooke. Thomas performed a beautiful Jaeger in her routine and ended with a double layout dismount. Cooke was next with back-to-back releases and another double layout.
Shifting to beam, junior Hannah Loyim and Adams tied for second with matching 9.875s to help the team achieve another season high in the event.
Concluding the night on floor, Adams’ 9.9 led, and Loyim was able to set a new career-high all-around score of 39.425.
BYU
BYU also had some highlights despite following to Iowa State. The Cougars scored 49 or higher on all four events for the first time this season.
“Both teams were hitting tonight and both had great energy. Iowa State is an amazing team, and the crowd energy was great for our first-ever Big 12 meet. The difference tonight was in our landings – we need to improve. Iowa State stuck everything, and we didn’t tonight,” head coach Guard Young said.
Starting the first rotation on bars, there were three 9.825s from sophomore Kylie Eaquinto, senior Anyssa Alvarado, and senior Lindsey Hunter-Kempler. On vault, Eaquinto and junior Melissa Earl both put up 9.825s. Eaquinto also took the team lead on floor with a solid 9.875, and junior Eliza Millar-Crossman won beam with a 9.9.
Penn @ West Virginia
Final Score: Penn: 195.025 – West Virginia: 194.850
Facing Penn in a dual meet on Sunday at home, the Mountaineers fell short, 195.025-194.850. However, they did earn a few achievements to cap the weekend, with season highs on vault (48.925), beam (48.600), and floor (48.975).
Starting the rotation on vault, sophomore Emma Wehry tied for the event title with a 9.85. On bars, junior Brooke Alban received a team high score of 9.825. Freshman Julia Brown obtained a career high with a 9.8 on beam to finish second on that event, and concluding on floor, senior Kiana Lewis finished first with a 9.875.
#1 Oklahoma @ #10 Denver quad meet
Final score: Oklahoma: 198.325, Denver: 197.175, UCLA: 196.550, Stanford: 196.100
Oklahoma
Oklahoma once again posted the nation’s highest score this season, beating No. 10 Denver, No. 11 UCLA, and Stanford with a 198.325.
Starting on floor, the Sooners notched a season high of 49.550 on the event. Junior Jordan Bowers and senior Katherine LeVasseur were outstanding individually, tying for the top score with 9.95s, while seniors Audrey Davis and Ragan Smith tied for season bests (9.9).
On vault, the Sooners posted another season high (49.600) thanks to a trio of 9.95s from Bowers, LeVasseur, and freshman Hannah Scheible, who hasn’t scored below a 9.9 in her three appearances for the Sooners to date. Each earned a share of the event title.
Bowers put up another 9.95 on bars to win the event, while sophomore Faith Torrez tied senior Ragan Smith for the beam title with near-perfect 9.975s. Beam marked another season high for the team (49.725).
Denver
Although the Pioneers finished second in the meet, they were still able to manage an 197.175 against tough competition, along with gaining the second-largest crowd (6,224) in Denver gymnastics history.
Starting with vault, the high score came from senior Rosie Casali (9.95), who also won her first event title this season after her stuck Yurchenko 1.5 tied three Sooner gymnasts for the top spot. Casali also tied her personal best (9.925) on bars in the following rotation.
Transitioning to beam, senior Jessica Hutchinson scored a team-best 9.9. Hutchinson also shared the floor title (9.950) and finished third in the all-around with a 39.625.
