Stanford, Oklahoma lead Day 1 of 2023 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships; Penn State sets season high at home

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Stanford and Oklahoma finished first in their respective pre-qualifying sessions of the 2023 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships on Friday at Penn State’s Rec Hall.

The Cardinal scored a 421.488 to outpace Nebraska and Illinois and qualify to team finals on Saturday. Oklahoma, meanwhile, tallied a 415.491 to narrowly edge Penn State for the best result of the evening session.

Nebraska, Illinois, Penn State, and Michigan also qualified to the team final. 

Stanford was dominant throughout the competition and broke the 420 mark for the fourth time this year despite counting a couple of falls. Brandon Briones sparked the Cardinal’s momentum early with a stuck Kas 1.5 on vault to score a 14.766. 

J.R. Chou and Asher Hong then finished first and second, respectively, on parallel bars. Chou performed a Makutz, Stutz to one bar, and double front dismount, while Hong stuck his double front half-out dismount. 

Brandon Nguyen took the top spot on high bar after completing a triple Tkatchev connection and sticking his dismount to score a 14.166. On floor, Nick Kuebler stuck a full-twisting double back dismount to tie for second. And Kuebler would later stick another dismount on rings to take the top spot with a 14.566. 

Stanford’s Khoi Young finished third on horse with a score of 14.3 after hitting his Busnari and fighting through a handstand dismount. 

The Cardinal will enter Saturday’s competition as the definite favorite.

Nebraska finished second to Stanford with a score of 410.124. Illinois placed third, scoring a 405.524, and Air Force finished fourth with a season-best 399.22. Navy and Army rounded out the standings with respective scores of 392.491 and 384.523. 

The Huskers’ Donte McKinney had the team’s top individual score, putting up the best score on vault with a 14.8 and finishing second on high bar. Nebraska’s Taylor Christopulos finished fourth on horse and tied for fifth on floor. 

Illinois’ Ian Skirkey tallied the best horse score of the session by an almost five-tenth margin, and Connor McCool handily topped the floor standings with a score of 14.7 after sticking his 2.5-twisting double back and triple-full dismount. Ashton Anaya was second on rings with a score of 14.4, while Amari Sewell and David Pochinka finished third on vault and parallel bars, respectively. 

Erich Upton and Patrick Hoopes of Air Force finished second on floor and on horse, respectively. Upton was also second all-around behind teammate Oliver Zavel. 

In the evening session, OU finished in front by just two-tenths of a point, and Penn State’s 415.290 amounted to an almost five-point season-high score. Michigan was close behind in third with a 413.992. 

The Sooners’ Spencer Goodell and Emre Dodanli led the team on Friday. Goodell finished second on floor, fifth on vault (tie), and fifth on parallel bars, while Emre Dodanli nabbed a pair of top-three finishes, placing first on high bar and third on floor. 

OU’s Ignacio Yockers also posted the best score of the meet on horse (14.633). 

Penn State’s Josh Karnes and Matt Cormier scored above 83 in the all-around to lead their team to a second-place finish. Karnes ended with an 83.965 and tied for first on parallel bars with a season-high 15.033 after sticking his double-front dismount. 

Matthew Underhill tied for the top rings score of the session with his 14.3, and Ian Raubal was close behind in fourth on the event. Chase Clingman finished fourth on horse with a 13.9, Karnes placed fourth on vault after sticking his Kas 1.5, and Cormier placed fourth on both parallel bars and high bar (tie). 

Michigan’s Fred Richard and Javier Alfonso had the team’s top individual finishes, with both tying for first on separate events. Richard matched Karnes on parallel bars with a score of 15.033, and Alfonso went 14.3 on rings to tie Underhill and Ohio State’s Donovan Hewitt. 

Crew Bold caught a Cassina, Kolman, and other release elements before sticking his dismount to take second on high bar, while David Wolma and Chris Read tied for second on vault with excellent Kas 1.5s. Michigan’s Adam Wooten and Landen Blixt tied for fourth on floor with scores of 14.233. 

Ohio State’s Kameron Nelson had the best score on both floor and vault. Nelson also finished third all-around to advance to event finals as a six-event man.

Cal finished fifth with a 395.055 for its second-best total of the year. The Bears’ Noah Newfeld and Tyler Shimizu qualified as all-arounders to Saturday’s finals. 

A complete list of individual qualifiers to Saturday’s even finals is below:

• AA: Oliver Zavel, Erich Upton, Isaiah Drake, Kameron Nelson, Noah Newfeld, Tyler Shimizu
• FX: Syam Buradagunta, Matthew Rosendahl, Ian Dinmore, Kazuki Hayashi, Caden Spencer, Theodor Gadderud
• PH: Patrick Hoopes, Sam Brown, Maddox Pabellon, Parker Thackston, Aidan Li, Will Lavanakul
• SR: Christian Marsh, Garrett Braunton, Joseph Buselmeier, Donovan Hewitt, Chris Scales, Kristian Grahovski
• VT: Connor Van Loo, Franco Peirano, Samuel Metzler, Ricky Mays, Owen Carney, Donovan Hewitt
• PB: Charlie Miles, William Champagne, Matthew Petros, Noah Sano, Jacob Harmon, Tyler Rockwood
• HB: Bryan Woffinden, Caleb Hickey, Joseph Buselmeier, Kazuki Hayashi, Caden Spencer, Owen Carney

The 2023 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships conclude Saturday in State College with the team and individual finals starting at 6 p.m. ET. Gymnastics Now will live blog the finals.