Maggie Nichols wins 2020 AAI Award
American Athletic, Inc. (AAI) announced Oklahoma’s Maggie Nichols as the 2020 AAI Award winner on Monday evening.
“It’s an incredible honor to be a nominee for this amazing award.” Nichols said in a statement released by OU. “I’m thankful to be here today and represent the University of Oklahoma and stand next to the other incredible nominees. Thanks to my teammates for supporting me through the hard moments and to my coaches for helping push me to be the absolute best gymnast & person I can be. Also, thanks to my family for being my biggest supporters and helping every step of the way.”
Nichols becomes the first Oklahoma women’s gymnast to win the award.
The Little Canada, Minnesota, native led OU to two National Championships in 2017 and 2019 and a runner-up finish in 2018, as well as three consecutive regional finals and three straight Big 12 Championships.
Nichols has had arguably the most dominant college career–start to finish–of all her senior peers. She is a six-time individual national champion (two on bars, two in the all-around, one on vault, and one on floor), 13-time NCAA All-American, and 17-time WCGA All-American. In 2019, she became just the sixth gymnast in NCAA history to win back-to-back NCAA all-around titles.
The former U.S. National Team member became the first Oklahoma gymnast to secure a perfect 10 on every event and earn a “Gym Slam” in 2017. After earning another in 2018, she became the first athlete in NCAA history to earn two. She has 22 perfect scores–an OU program record–and also leads the Sooners in total career event titles with 148. Her 35 wins on bars, 30 wins on beam, and 32 in the all-around are also a school record.
According to SoonerSports.com, Nichols boasts a career hit percentage of 98.9, hitting 180 of her 182 routines. As a sophomore and junior, she hit 100 percent of her routines. Her career-high all-around score of 39.925, set in 2017, is the fourth-highest in NCAA history.
Nichols is the only gymnast in NCAA history with more than one score of 39.900 or better, holding four of the top 10 spots on the all-time all-around score list.
Outside of the gym, Nichols is a three-time Academic All-Big 12 selection and a three-time WCGA Scholastic All-American. She is set to graduate from OU in the fall of 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in communications.
In 2018, Nichols came forward as “Athlete A” and played a key role in convicting former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. Her bravery earned her the 2019 NCAA Inspiration Award.
A 2020 film, titled “Athlete A” in her honor, is set to premiere on Netflix on June 24. The film “follows the Indianapolis Star reporters that broke the story about Larry Nassar’s abuse.” Nichols and other gymnasts make appearances in the film.
Nichols was Oklahoma’s ninth-consecutive finalist for the AAI Award.
Congratulations to Maggie Nichols with @OU_WGymnastics taking home the title of the 2020 AAI Award Winner!@MagsGotSwag12 pic.twitter.com/sgt5ta7UEv
— American Athletic (@AAIequipment) April 20, 2020
AAI presented the “Heisman Trophy” for women’s gymnastics in a different way this year due to COVID-19 restrictions preventing the annual NCAA Championship Banquet award ceremony. (The NCAA Championship and season as a whole were cancelled in mid-March.)
Utilizing a webinar, each finalist was given the opportunity to answer what it means to be an AAI Award finalist and their favorite NCAA moment. Nichols was then announced as the winner.
The other finalists for the 2020 award were Kennedi Edney (LSU), Taylor Houchin (Nebraska), Mollie Korth (Kentucky), Maddie Karr (Denver), and Kyla Ross (UCLA).
Thirty-two female athletes were nominated for this year’s award, which is presented to the most outstanding collegiate senior female gymnast in the country.
AAI has been awarding this honor for over 30 years.
See below for this year’s list of nominees in alphabetical order.
2020 AAI Award Nominees – *Denotes Finalist
Olivia Aepli – Ohio State
Halli Briscoe – Oregon State
Michaela Burton – Pitt
Sydney Converse – Iowa State
Maddie Desch – Alabama
Ella Douglas – Michigan State
Jovannah East – Bowling Green
Kennedi Edney – LSU*
Shannon Evans – BYU
Lexi Funk – Michigan
Rachel Gowey – Florida
Sierra Hassel – Nebraska
Taylor Houchin – Nebraska*
Amelia Hundley – Florida
Maddie Karr – Denver*
Mollie Korth – Kentucky*
Isis Lowery – Oregon State
Ivy Lu – Minnesota
Tess McCracken – Penn State
Courtney McGregor – Boise State
Maggie Nichols – Oklahoma*
Bria Northrop – TWU
Denelle Pedrick – Central Michigan
Morgan Porter – Mizzou
Missy Reinstadtler – Utah
Evanni Roberson – Washington
Kyla Ross – UCLA*
Anna Salamone – Air Force
Baylee Tkaczuk – Wisconsin (Oshkosh)
Daisy Todd – Temple
Sabrina Vega – Georgia
Jessica Yamzon – Arkansas
