WEEK 11 2026 CGA POWER RANKINGS & RECAP

By Peri Goodman, Isaac Erickson, Shannen Horan, and Peter Hristozov

The meet of the week seemed to be the USAG Collegiate National Championships, where Simpson, Greenville, Airforce, Army, Navy, William and Mary, and Springfield all battled it out for a team title and individual event titles. It was also an important weekend in the Big Ten, with the regular-season team championship on the line. The Nebraska Cornhuskers traveled to Ann Arbor to take on the Michigan Wolverines. In addition, Ohio State visited Penn State in another evenly matched competition. For the MPSF, California hosted the number one-ranked Sooners, where they met for a dual meet just two weeks out from the MPSF Championships, which the Bears will also host.

Week 11 Meet Recap

Oklahoma at California

It was senior night at Haas Pavilion, as California celebrated Kaien Orion, Jasper Smith-Gordon, Khalen Curry, and Theodor Gadderud, in their duel meet against Oklahoma. California finished the meet with a 315.100, only six tenths shy of their season high. They outscored the number one-ranked Sooners on vault with a 56.300 and tied them on floor with a 53.650. Matteo Bardana continues to put up consistent performances for the Cal Bears, with his 13.7 on the floor exercise, taking second place. His routine featured a difficult front full punch double front mount, where he was able to kick out with the amplitude he had. Bardana brought the energy to his team in the opening rotation,  with a stuck double pike dismount, for a 0.1 stick bonus. Jasper Smith-Gordon took yet another vault title with his Kasamatsu 1 ½ with a small step to the side, and virtually zero form deductions in the air, for a 14.25. Tucker Yasunaga took third place on the parallel bars with a 13.6, after performing a clean routine featuring a fluid Makuts and a stuck double front dismount. Yasunaga also tied his teammate, Troy Nuesca, for third place on the high bar, where they both scored 12.750’s. Yasunaga performed a beautiful Zou Li Min element and a really clean Kolman release, with his legs pasted together. Nuesca’s routine on high bar included beautiful Takamoto elements, a dynamic Kovacs release, and a stuck full twisting double layout dismount. Jaxon Mitchell was also crucial in multiple lineups for the Bears, most notably with his 13.25 on rings and his 12.6 on high bar. The Sooners didn't have a perfect day in their away meet, but it was still a great showing from them with a 325.250, coming away with the win. The Sooners had an outstanding opening horse rotation, where they hit four for four routines. Colby Aranda came away with the event title, with a 14.5,  and Ignacio Yockers was right behind him with a 14.45. Nico Hamilton won the floor exercise title with his 13.8, which included an impressive stuck front layout to double front pike connection pass. Francisco Belez Velendez continues to shine on the still rings with another event title and a 14.050, which helped increase the Sooners' lead. Vault was a bit of a rough rotation for the Sooners, with some landing errors, but a 14.0 from Fuzzy Benas and a 13.9 from Nathan Roman helped save the rotation. Roman also had an outstanding performance on the parallel bars, winning the event title with a 14.25. His routine included a well-done peach half, a Bhavsar, and a double front dismount. Tas Hajdu also had a great performance for the Sooners on the parallel bars with a 13.9. Hajdu performed a difficult and unique front uprise Stutz element, a peach half, and a well-controlled double front dismount. In addition to the vault, high bar was another struggle for the Sooners. With some misses early in the lineup, there was no one better to anchor the rotation than senior Captain Kelton Christiansen. Christiansen competed two difficult Jaegar releases, beautiful Takamoto elements, and ended his routine with a stuck double twisting double layout dismount for a 14.0 and the high bar event title. 

Nebraska at Michigan

Though there were nearly five points separating the two teams, the meet was anything but settled until the very end. Michigan ultimately pulled away with the senior night win following high bar, with a season high 55.900. The previous five events saw the Wolverines and the Huskers stay within one point of each other. Michigan became the second team to surpass the 330 mark this season, eclipsed only by national frontrunner Oklahoma. Charlie Larson remains on top of the floor standings following a 14.700, garnering attention and reposts from USAG’s social media. He finished nearly a point ahead of Chase Mondi in second with a 13.850 of his own. The Wolverines swept the top three spots on pommels, with a tight grouping of Aaronson Mansberger (14.150), Fred Richard (13.900), and Zach Granados (13.800).  Heading into the postseason, this core is expected to continue using pommel horse as a momentum builder at Big Ten championships. Two of the Big Ten’s strongest rings specialists went head to head, in the form of national leader Asher Cohen and Michigan’s consistent anchor Akshay Puri. Cohen went lights out, avoiding any swing whatsoever through his entire strength sequence and carrying his momentum through to a stuck double double. His routine earned a new collegiate career high, at 14.700. Nathan York took the vault title with a commanding 14.600, leading a crew of Huskers who all went 14.250 aside from him. Richard redeemed an off day on floor with a win on parallel bars (14.150), and high bar (14.400), narrowly beating fellow senior Blixt (14.350) on the latter. Max Odden came the closest to catching the pair of Wolverines, posting a 14.300 as the lone Husker to break the 14 mark in the final rotation. Heading into conference championships as the leader and runner up teams, there’s definite pressure on them to fine tune even further if they want hardware. Both have shown they can do it, but who can do it on the day? Current dynasty Michigan, or their biggest challenger Nebraska?

Ohio State at Penn State

Penn State’s regular season finale left major uncertainties for the team, with contagious faults on their otherwise strongest event, the still rings. The Buckeyes took a two point lead after the first rotation which was highlighted by sophomore Noah Copeland’s 13.800 and junior Jacob Harmon’s 13.600. The Nittany Lions counted two falls both coming from tucked double fronts. Their highlight as a team came from pommels, where all four were able to hit or surpass the 13.000 mark. Penn State took the top three spots on the pommels with Ricky Perez winning the event with a 13.550. Ohio State struggled, counting three falls including two from National Team member Parker Thackston. Penn State made up three points on the Buckeyes and went into rings with a 1.000 lead. Only Matthew Underhill got through rings unscathed out of the Nittany Lions, with his 14.200 contrasting the 10.050 to 12.700 from his teammates. Heading into the Vault the Buckeyes were back on top. A fall from Chase Davenport-Mills opened the door back up. Both teams nailed the rest of their vaults. Landon Simpson stuck his Kasamatsu 1.5 for the first time in his career and scored a 14.050. Zach Snyder took the top spot with a 14.150 showing amazing form in both preflight and postflight. David Ramirez proved why he is Ohio State's anchor on the parallel bars finishing his routine with another stuck his dismount. Ramirez performs a backwards double tuck with a full twist (Hiroyuki Kato) the hardest dismount being done in the NCAA. Simpson was able to take the parallel bar title posting a huge 14.150 with a routine showcasing a front uprise Diamidov and Stutz, both new for him this year. An unfortunate fall from senior Kacper Garnczarek put the Buckeyes back on top by 1.550 going into the last event. Both teams went all out on the highbar as athletes were performing some of the hardest skills in the book. Kellen Ryan upgraded his routine which included the ‘G’ valued Cassina while the event’s top performer Kristian Grahovski performed one of the best Walstrom’s (also G value) being done in the world. Akseli Karsikas caught all of his releases including a straddle + straight Tkachev connection, tying Kristian’s 14.000. Harmon looked amazing as well catching his Layed out Piatti with his finger tips and sticking his double twisting double layout dismount. In a meet that saw a lead change after each of the first four events the Buckeyes came out on top with a 317.950 over Penn State’s 315.500.

USAG Collegiate National Championships

The two-day competition hosted in Colorado Springs, Colorado at the United States Air Force Academy was the highlight of this past weekend. The meet had close cuts throughout the whole competition, and the service academies battled Greenville, Simpson, and Springfield for the collegiate national championship title. To kick off the meet, the floor rotation had high thirteen scores, with the top three places all separated by a tenth and a half. The rotation leader however belonged to Army’s Black Knights, who didn’t have any top five finishes, but put down four solid scores. Navy’s Danilo, came away with the day one lead for his team, but the final’s floor title belonged to Jaxon Clapper, from Greenville. Clapper sat in seventh place after day one, and moved up to win the title after scoring a 13.800. When it came to pommel horse, Army west point pulled the event team win by almost four points. The top three scores individually that led the rotation belonged to three separate teams, Army: Maddox Pabellon, Air Force: Jack Matlock, Springfield: Peyton Cramer. Pabellon led the event by .450 on day one, but Peyton Cramer threw down a fantastic routine on finals to score a 14.000, .05 improvement. Pabellon, after finishing in second last year, led on day one but fell short again placing third. Jack Matlock had an outstanding performance as well, scoring a 13.95 and qualifying for the individual event finals, where he later finished in second place. The rings rotation was gnarly. The rotation was a domination of the division three teams, and ultimately Springfield college took away the show. Blaise Rousseau has gradually been improving his rings routine throughout the season, and he led this day one rotation with a 14.100. However, in the finals, Simpson Storm’s superstar Brain Rollison took the title from him beating him on final’s by .400 scoring a 13.700. Vault was a high scoring rotation that was led by Navy as a team, but it had highlighted routines from each program. Team day was led by familiar faces within the ECAC. Matthew Petros of Navy led day one with a 14.400, followed by Storm’s Braxton Jones with a 14.050, and Greenville’s Kyle Hinson with a 14.000. When finals came, Nick Lester became the title winner by breaking out with a 13.85, being the leader under pressure. Parallel Bars had several low scores, but had some high scoring routines. The podium again was shared on day one by three separate teams again, this time Greenville, Springfield and William & Mary. However, once finals came several athletes crumbled under pressure, disregarding standout athlete Jaxon Clapper who scored the highest score of all of day two all events, a 14.150. Highbar took out the team scores, and the individual scores on both days. On day one, Army closed out the team meet with the top team score, even without having any of the top three scores. Owen Carney of Springfield was the day one winner, scoring a 13.350, winning by .050. Tai Gopaul who sat in third on qualifications day, showed out in the finals scoring a 13.550, improving his score by .450 to take home the event win. Gopaul also had a great performance on the high bar in team competition with a 13.100 to close things out, earning a spot in finals before claiming the title. The Falcons finished their competition in sixth place with a 306.75. The Falcons had some notable errors on the floor exercise and high bar, which let them fall out of contention for the title, but they had some standout performances across all events from multiple athletes. Issac Koo was an important freshman for the Falcons, posting important scores on floor, vault, parallel bars, and high bar, ultimately making event finals on floor, vault, and parallel bars. In the end, the competition was a dogfight that ended in a big time win for Army West Point, with the next three teams only separated by a point and a half.

Week 11 Conference Outlook

BIG10

The Big Ten has a new regular-season champion, as the Michigan Wolverines claimed sole possession of the title with a senior night victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Michigan also swept the weekly conference honors, with Fred Richard earning Gymnast of the Week, Charlie Larson taking Co-Specialist of the Week, and Chase Pappas being named Freshman of the Week. Nebraska’s Asher Cohen shared the specialist honor after an outstanding 14.700 on rings. Heading into the Big Ten Championships, host Nebraska will look to upset No. 2-ranked Michigan, who currently trails only The Oklahoma Sooners nationally. Nebraska enters ranked fourth, just behind The Stanford Cardinals, while The Ohio State Buckeyes sit fifth following a strong road performance at Penn State last weekend. Penn State and The Illinois Fighting Illini round out the conference ranked in sixth and seventh, respectively. Both teams have been battling significant injuries this season. The Nittany Lions are without All-American Luke Esparo, while Illinois has missed standout Nathan Whitaker, forcing both programs to lean on key contributors like upperclassman Matt Underhill and captain Landon Simpson for Penn State, and juniors Preston Ngai and Garrett Schooley for Illinois. Ohio State will look to make a statement behind its trio of all-arounders; Jesse-Lee Pakele, David Ramirez, and Drake Andrews, in what promises to be one of the most competitive conference meets in the country. Individual titles are wide open across events, with contenders emerging from nearly every team. Keep an eye on Charlie Larson and Garrett Schooley on floor, while National Team members Brandon Dang and Parker Thackston headline a deep pommel horse field. Cohen remains the top contender on rings, with Underhill close behind. The vault will come down to execution in the air and a stuck landing at the end. Nebraska freshman Ty Roderiques hopes to make a statement competing at home in his first Big Ten Championships. On parallel bars, Nathan York is among the leaders, closely chased by Olympian Fred Richard. The high bar will test precision and composure across a stacked field. Watch for Max Odden and Carson Eshleman, both known for exceptional form, as they contend for the title. 

ECAC

The ECAC saw a strong showing this past weekend at the USAG Collegiate National Championships, with multiple conference teams in the field. Greenville continues to lead the conference, currently sitting ranked ninth nationally, and proving that they can hang with anyone in the country. Their depth and ability to capitalize in finals situations was on full display, especially behind athletes like Jaxon Clapper, who continue to deliver in big moments. Simpson, who sits in last place within the conference and the rankings, continues to trend upward each meet. The results may not fully reflect it yet, but their trajectory is clear, and performances like Brain Rollison stepping up in finals moments show that they are closing gaps and building toward something more competitive. Army West Point’s win at USAG Collegiate Nationals was a huge redemption story. After dropping both the All Academy Championship and the Star Meet by strong margins, this performance was a complete shift. To come back and win this meet by nearly two points shows a level of resilience and execution Coach Jake Bonnay has talked about all season, that flips the momentum heading into postseason competition. Across the conference, there are multiple athletes beginning to peak in routine moments. Maddox Pabellon, Brain Rollison, Blaise Rousseau, Nick Lester, Owen Carney, and Matthew Petros have all shown the ability to put up high level scores and step up in pressure situations. The next step for this group, and for the conference as a whole, is consistency. Matching that level of difficulty with hit routines every meet will be the difference maker as the postseason continues. With momentum building, and multiple teams showing flashes of high level execution, the ECAC is positioning itself to be competitive down the stretch, with clear signs that the gap between teams continues to tighten.

MPSF

MPSF Championships are coming up fast, as Oklahoma, Stanford, California, and Air Force will all be competing for the Conference Title on April 4th. After Week 11, Oklahoma ranks in the number one spot in the CGA polls, with Stanford in close range at the number three spot. It will likely be between these two teams for the team title, but with the intense four up four count format, anything can happen, and California and Air Force will be there to take advantage of the opportunity and apply some pressure to these top-ranked teams. With California receiving there second highest team score of 315.1 this past weekend in their competition with Oklahoma, head coach Bryan Del Castillo and his team are on track to peak at their home conference championships, which will make the competition that much more exciting. Holding the number one position in the CGA Rankings for most of the season, Mark Williams and his team seem to be the ones to beat come postseason. The Sooners seem to have a lot of depth and have strong senior leadership, from athletes like Kelton Christiansen and Brigham Frentheway. The Sooners are the reigning MPSF Team Champions, and with some uncharacteristic mistakes against Cal, they will look to refine and polish some minor details in order to put themselves in the best opportunity to repeat as champions. Airforce also had some uncharacteristic mistakes last weekend at the USAG Collegiate National Championships. A 306.75 team score is far from what this team is capable of. However, the Falcons still have the opportunity to qualify a team for the NCAA Championships, and they will be hungry to show off their true potential at the MPSF Championships. The Falcons will continue to rely on strong performances from athletes such as Tai Gopaul, Sam Brown, and Jared Fry to finish this season strong. The Stanford Cardinal certainly have the talent and the depth to take the title away from the Sooners, so that number three ranking shouldn't fool anyone. With some guys resting, splitting into more than one team, or having some experimental lineups, the Cardinal havent always had their strongest lineups compete, but come April 4th, Thom Glielmi certainly will put up a strong lineup that will be poised to contend for the coveted title. As for individual accolades, Oklahoma’s Tas Hajdu came away with MPSF Specialist of the Week, Nathan Roman took MPSF Freshman of the Week, and Air Force’s Tai Gopaul took MPSF Gymnast of the Week.  

The championship season is right around the corner for all teams in the NCAA. Conference championships will be coming up within the next few weeks, and then twelve teams will meet in Champaign, Illinois, for the chance to qualify to NCAA Team Finals to win the National Championship Title. As of week 12,  Oklahoma, Michigan, and Stanford are the top three teams, but with the four-up-four-count format in a team final, it really could be anyone’s game. The Big Ten Championship, ECAC Championship, and the MPSF Championship will all be occurring on the weekend of April 3rd-4th, so tune in for a lot of exciting gymnastics, with a lot on the line.