2026 Conference Finals Recap

By Peri Goodman, Isaac Erickson, and Peter Hristozov

MPSF Conference Finals

The Oklahoma Sooners continue their undefeated season with a fantastic performance at the MPSF Championships. The Sooners won their second consecutive conference title with a 332.1, the nation's highest score. Head coach Mark Williams has to be pleased with his team's consistency, hitting 24/24 routines, to defeat the dominant Stanford Cardinal. The Sooners started on the vault, where they were dynamic and clean. Fuzzy Benas took the conference individual title on the vault with a 14.35, after sticking his Kasamatsu 1 ½ vault. The Sooners then moved to the parallel bars, where Nathan Roman performed an effortless routine for a 14.7 and the conference title. This 14.7 is currently the nation's highest score on the parallel bars. It was stick city on the high bar for the Sooners. Nico Hamilton took the risk on high bar, with difficult double flipping releases, and finished the routine with a stuck double twisting double layout that brought the energy and kept the momentum going for the Sooners. Hamilton scored a 14.3 and won the higher event title. Sasha Bogonosiuk narrowly missed out on taking the floor title, with a 14.3 for his stylish routine, incorporating a difficult front double twist to double front combination pass. Redshirt freshman Colby Aranda hit another clutch pommel routine in the anchor position for a 14.15 and the pommel horse event title. The Stanford Cardinal finished the competition in second place with a 327.2. The Cardinal had some costly errors on high bar and pommel horse, but had many standout performances on all apparatuses. The Cardinal won the floor exercise with a 55.75, and the still rings with a 55.8. They began on the parallel bars, where David Shamah performed a well-executed routine with those difficult front uprise elements that earned him a 14.3, for second place on the event. Jun Iwai had an outstanding performance on the high bar for a 14.15 and second place. Cooper Kim had great landings and execution on the floor exercise. He earned a 14.4 and took the floor event title. Stanford continues to show dominance on the still rings, with the likes of Asher Hong and Nick Kuebler, who scored a 14.55 and 14.15, respectively. Hong took the still rings title with his incredible display of strength and a stuck double twisting double layout. The California Golden Bears had a fantastic showing at their home MPSF meets, finishing third with a 317.75, their highest team score so far this season. Theodor Roald Gadderud had a third-place finish on the vault with a 14.2, after sticking his Kasamatsu 1 ½ vault. Gadderud also shined on the floor exercise, with powerful tumbling that earned him a 13.9 and fifth place. Jasper Smith-Gordon had an outstanding competition, earning a third-place finish on the pommel horse with a 13.8 and a second-place finish on the vault with a 14.25. The Golden Bears got the highest individual event score on the vault with a 55.95, defeating highly ranked Oklahoma and Stanford, who are historically dominant vaulting teams. The Air Force Falcons finished the competition in fourth place with a team score of 303.8. Jared Fry took the all-around title with a 75.95, after contributing greatly in many lineups for the Falcons. Sam Brown and Jack Matlock took fourth and fifth on the pommel horse with a 13.45 and a 13.4, respectively. Tai Gopaul had another stellar performance on the high bar with a stuck triple back, scoring a 13.5, for fourth place.

Big Ten Conference

The 2026 Michigan Wolverines have put on a dominating performance this season from being crowned regular season BIG10 Champions to winning BIG10 Conference Championships for the sixth consecutive time. This team is showing why they should be favored to repeat as National Champions next weekend as the top 12 teams in the country compete at NCAA Championships in Illinois. 

Michigan started the competition on the parallel bars where they won the event with a score of 54.200, led by Fred Richard’s 14.150 and Pierce Wolfgang’s 13.600. After the first rotation it was Penn State who had the lead after a great vault rotation. The Nittany Lions scored a 55.600 and were led by Kellen Ryan’s 14.100. Ohio State started strong on the highbar with Kristian Grahovski delivering a wonderful routine that earned him a 14.200. That score held up for the whole competition and put Grahovski into the highbar finals ranked in first position. Chase Mondi led the Huskers on the floor with a solid 13.650. 

Going into rotation two Illinois took to the vault where they scored a season high of 55.200. This performance was led by Garrett Schooley who scored a 14.300 after landing a massive triple twisting Tsukahara (Lopez). This score was tied by a pair of Wolverines, Charlie Larson and Landen Blixt, who all entered the event finals tied for the top spot.  Ohio State moved to the floor where Jesse Pakele and Jacob Harmon led the Buckeyes with strong performances and clean landings. Nebraska did their job on pommel horse hitting all four routines and winning the event with a team score of 53.000. Caden Clinton was the highlight of the rotation showcasing four incredible flair skills connected right into his dismount for a solid 13.550. Akseli Karsikas scored a 13.550 for Penn State on the parallel bars, leading the Nittany Lions on that event and qualifying himself into event finals. Wolfgang and Carson Eshleman ended up second and third on the highbar, scoring a 14.000 and a 13.850 respectively. Eshleman had a great save on his dismount while Wolfgang stuck his triple back cold! 

Rotation three is where the two leaders began to separate themselves for the rest. Nebraska went to the rings where they have been dominant all year. Senior Asher Cohen hit a super strong routine earning himself a 14.300 and first position heading into event finals. Nebraska won the event with a 52.850. Michigan dominated the floor taking three out of the top four spots. Charlie Larson won the event with a 14.100 while team mates Landon Blixt and Fred Richard tied with a 13.700. Sam Phillips led the Illini on the parallel bars with a 13.500 and Karsikas continued his strong performance for Penn State with a big 13.600 on the highbar for the Nittany Lions. One of the biggest highlights from the whole meet came from National Team member Parker Thackston who scored the highest individual score of the whole competition coming in at a massive 14.650. Thackston moved into the event finals ranked in the first position.

Penn State and Ohio State struggled in the fourth rotation as Penn State moved to the floor and Ohio State went to the rings. Penn State scored a season low of 50.100 on the floor exercise, while Ohio State also had a season low scoring a 50.500 on the rings. Luke James led the Huskers on vault with a super clean 14.250 two and a half twisting Tsukahara (Driggs). Illinois had their season best on the highbar scoring a 52.950. This performance was led by Hasan Aydogdu who stuck his double twisting double layout dismount earning himself a 13.800 and a spot in the event finals.

The fifth rotation had many standout individual performances. Illinois rotated to the floor where Tate Costa led the rotation with a 13.400. Freshman and Australia native Ritam Malik led Penn State on the pommel horse with a 13.200. Michigan ring specialist Akshay Puri hit a great routine which earned himself a 13.900 and second position heading into event finals. Grahovski made his way into fifth position on the vault with a beautifully stuck Driggs scoring a 14.200 for Ohio. Also finding himself atop the leader board was Nebraska’s Nathan York. York, who came into this conference championships as the top ranked gymnast in the BIG10 on parallel bars did not disappoint. He hit a beautiful routine and tied Richard’s 14.150 for the top spot.

As the competition moved to its final event Michigan had the lead over Nebraska by only 0.300. Unfortunately for the Huskers, the Wolverines were headed to vault, which is historically the highest scoring event. Penn State finished on the rings where senior Matthew Underhill nailed his routine and led the Nittany Lions with a huge 13.850. Illinois went to pommel horse, where both Preston Ngai and Brandon Dang hit huge routines scoring a 14.200 and a 13.900 respectively. Ohio State finished on the parallel bars led by a strong performance from Pakele who earned a 13.700 and qualified to the event finals in 3rd position. Alex Nitache of Nebraska was set to go on the highbar knowing he needed to hit a great routine in order to give Nebraska a chance at the BIG10 title. Nitache scored a 13.700 after he caught all three of his releases, two of which included a’G’ value full twisting Tkachev (Liukin) and a ‘G’ value laid out full twisting Kovacs (Cassina). Nitache capped off his routine with a nearly stuck huge triple back dismount. It ended up being Michigan’s day as both Larson and Blixt performed great yurchenko with two and a half twists (Shewfelt) and tied the leader with a 14.300. At the conclusion of the meet, Michigan found themselves atop the podium finishing with a 323.500, a 2.700 point lead over Nebraska. Michigan also won the floor exercise, vault, and the parallel bars while Nebraska won the other three events. Illinois rounded out the podium scoring a 316.700, 4.000 behind Nebraska. With the results of all of the conference finals added into the national averages, the stage is set for NCAA Championships. Nebraska and Ohio State will be competing together in session one NCAA prelims. Michigan, Penn State, and Illinois will be competing in session two of NCAA prelims. Only the top three teams from each session will move on to team finals.

ECAC Conference

Greenville made history this weekend, winning its first ECAC championship. Army, who took the title last year, finished in third. Amidst finishing in last place as a team, the newest program, Simpson College, still had ECAC event title winners.

Greenville had several standout performances on the way to the historic team title. Freshman Kyler Hinson had his best performance of the year, finishing top 10 on every event aside from rings and winning the all-around title by 0.650, beating Brian Solomon, who has been a dominant force in the all-around this season. Hinson also led off a strong parallel bars rotation that set the tone for the Panthers. Greenville had a dominating parallel bars rotation that felt like the depth of a first-year powerhouse program, with Popov and Avery contributing key routines. Jaxon Clapper, who was recently named Gymnast of the Week, met expectations and anchored floor. Greenville head coach Zach Peters specifically mentioned Clapper after the meet, noting that without his contribution, this historic result would not have been possible. Ricard also returned to the floor lineup, competing for the third time this season. On the pommel horse, Matthew Roth won the event title with nearly a perfect routine. There was one minor error, but he finished with one of the best circle handstand dismounts in the conference, earning a 14.100. Greenville also blew out the vault scores, with every athlete performing some of their best vaults of the year. Rings routines can still improve, as there were a few falls throughout the lineup, and scores that would normally be higher took unusual hits because of handstand and dismount deductions. Following the competition weekend, Peters shared insight on the record-breaking performance. The Greenville head coach mentioned that the training plan stays the same after this competition, but the result impacts the team because of the depth they now have across their individuals. Peters said the team has the capability to do something really special again and that the athletes are motivated to showcase even more next weekend. Peters also spoke about Kyler Hinson, who became the first Greenville gymnast to win the ECAC all-around title, describing him as a rockstar training all around.

Although Simpson finished last as a team, the newest program in the conference showed resilience and still produced an ECAC event champion. Braxton Jones, who was highlighted as an athlete to watch heading into the competition, won the floor title with a 13.900. Jones stuck nearly every pass in his routine. He dismounted with a double back tuck, not meeting the D dismount requirement, but his execution score and excellence throughout the rest of the routine made the difference. Simpson struggled to put up high scores on pommel horse but showed tenacity, with every athlete staying on the apparatus and fighting through their routines. On rings, Brian Rollison finished second in a tight Division III battle between Rollison and Rousseau. The team had two falls on high bar, a fall on vault, and two falls on parallel bars, but still put together a scrappy rotation that showed the grit of the young program.

Navy had multiple strong individual performances throughout the meet. Danilio Vaciana narrowly missed the floor title, finishing just 0.100 behind the top score. On high bar, Petros won the event title for the Midshipmen with the highest scoring routine of the day. He showcased a beautiful routine where his body length emphasized his lines and angles in bar skills, along with high-flying Tkatchev releases.

Army West Point finished the meet in third place after winning the conference title last season. Nick Lester was a highlighted athlete heading into the competition and matched the excitement with a 13.900 vault. Lester also had the highest scoring routine for Army on parallel bars. Army struggled to put together several complete routines on parallel bars, as Lester and teammate Jaden Blank were the only two athletes on the team to score above thirteen. Army also had strong pommel horse routines from Maddox Pabellon, who scored his fourth highest routine of the season with a 13.950, and teammate Jake Prabhakaran, an upcoming powerhouse for the Black Knights, who finished just 0.050 behind him.

Springfield saw Palacio continue to return to lineups as he looks to peak for the NCAA Championships. Springfield’s parallel bars dismounts were executed beautifully, showing the team’s continued polish on the event. Palacio also delivered a massive vault, while Dalton had his best vault of the season.

William & Mary athlete Luke Tully came away with a medal after the weekend, tying for second on floor but officially taking the third-place spot with a 13.800. Tully also tied for fourth on parallel bars and placed third in the all-around, making him the clear standout athlete for the Tribe this weekend. Teammate Jonathan Irwin also delivered a standout performance, tying for third on rings. Irwin has competed all season on rings, but this time managed to come away with one of his top scores at a big meet. Evan Wilkins had a tough meet this weekend for the Tribe.