MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – Oklahoma collected its 14
th Big 12 Gymnastics Championship and its second straight title on Saturday night at West Virginia’s WVU Coliseum. The Sooners outdid last year’s performance by recording the highest team score in Big 12 Championship history with a 198.400.
The No. 1-ranked Sooners placed first in vault, the uneven bars, the balance beam and on floor. Denver secured a second-place finish (197.175) while WVU finished third (196.225) and Iowa State placed fourth (193.750).
OU’s Ragan Smith won her second Big 12 beam title as she registered the first perfect 10 in Big 12 Championship history on beam.
A three-way tie on vault resulted with Denver’s Rylie Mundell, Oklahoma’s Olivia Trautman and Danielle Sievers taking the title with a score of 9.950.
Audrey Davis and Trautman shared the bars title (9.950) while a pair from Oklahoma (Jordan Bowers and Faith Torrez) join Denver’s Jessica Hutchinson and Iowa State’s Maddie Diab as the title holders for the floor exercise.
Jordan Bowers captured the All-Around event title with her score of 39.700, marking the first All-Around Big 12 title for Oklahoma since Maggie Nichols in 2018.
This year was the fourth time in Big 12 Championship history that there were ties for first place in three or more events.
Denver’s Hutchinson claimed Gymnast of the Year in back-to-back seasons making her the fifth Big 12 gymnast to achieve the feat. The junior garnered nine event wins this season, including a pair of perfect 10s on beam and floor. Hutchinson received her first All-Big 12 Team honor as she was a Big 12 leader in the all-around. Throughout the season, she set career highs in all events and in the all-around.
Oklahoma’s Katherine LeVasseur was named Event Specialist of the Year after she posted four event wins on vault this season. The junior registered two perfect 10s this season and has been named Event Specialist of the Week three times during the 2023 campaign. LeVasseur was named to the All-Big 12 Team in the vault after she led the Conference and now sits fourth in the nation with a National Qualifying Score of 9.945 in the event. An Oklahoma gymnast has taken the award ten times since it was first awarded in 2011 and is the third consecutive year the program has claimed the accolade.
Torrez in her first season at Oklahoma garnered Newcomer of the Year after she totaled eight event wins during the regular season against top-ranked programs. The freshman took seven Newcomer weekly accolades that match the second-most selections in a single season. She sits first in the Big 12 in the floor exercise rankings while being the only freshman in the nation’s top 10 in the event (7) with a 9.950 NQS.
K.J. Kindler won her 15
th career Coach of the Year award and her 12
th as the head coach of Oklahoma. Kindler led the Sooners to a 15-1 season record while being the top-ranked team all season.
Big 12 Championship Team Standings
- Oklahoma – 198.400
- Denver – 197.175
- West Virginia – 196.225
- Iowa State – 193.750
All-Big 12 Championship Team
(
top three places, including ties in each event)
All-Around: Jordan Bowers (Oklahoma), 39.700; Jessica Hutchinson (Denver), 39.625; Audrey Davis (Oklahoma), 39.575
Vault: Olivia Trautman (Oklahoma), 9.950; Danielle Sievers (Oklahoma), 9.950; Rylie Mundell (Denver), 9.950
Uneven Bars: Audrey Davis (Oklahoma), 9.950; Olivia Trautman (Oklahoma), 9.950; Jordan Bowers (Oklahoma), 9.925; Danielle Sievers (Oklahoma), 9.925
Balance Beam: Ragan Smith (Oklahoma), 10; Faith Torrez (Oklahoma), 9.975; Jordan Bowers (Oklahoma), 9.950; Jessica Hutchinson (Denver), 9.950; Olivia Trautman (Oklahoma), 9.950; Callie Schlottman (Denver), 9.950
Floor Exercise: Jordan Bowers (Oklahoma), 9.950; Jessica Hutchinson (Denver), 9.950; Faith Torrez (Oklahoma), 9.950; Maddie Diab (Iowa State), 9.950
2023 Big 12 Gymnastics of the Year Awards
Gymnast of the Year: Jessica Hutchinson (Denver)
Event Specialist of the Year: Katherine LeVasseur (Oklahoma)
Newcomer of the Year: Faith Torrez (Oklahoma)
Coach of the Year: K.J. Kindler (Oklahoma)