Week 4 2026 CGA Power Rankings & Recap

By Peri Goodman, Isaac Erickson, and Peter Hristozov

There were a lot of great matchups in week four, with high-quality gymnastics on display. Penn State and Illinois were able to have a rematch after a rare tie at the Sam Mikulak Invitational. In addition, Nebraska and Ohio State had a neck-and-neck battle at the Covelli Center, with suspense and excitement going into the last event. In Norman, the Sooners posted the highest team score of the weekend in their dual meet against Greenville. Lastly, Springfield broke many program records at their competition against William and Mary, with a competitive team score that will definitely shake up the rankings going into week five. 

Week 4 meet recaps

Nebraska at Ohio State

This Big Ten dual meet came down to the last two events, after a first four that could have spelled out a win for either team. The Buckeyes’ incredible high bar consistency, with all four routines scoring between 13.400 and 13.600, outshone the Huskers’ uncharacteristically low scoring pommels rotation. Nebraska began testing select freshmen in only their second meet of the season, with Sam Rakita and Max Odden showing a combined seven routines across the Huskers’ upperclassman heavy roster. The latter proved victorious on high bar notching a 13.800, and came close to earning a floor title – though was unable to catch Buckeye Jesse Lee Pakele’s 14.000. Conversely, Pakele nearly caught but couldn’t overtake Asher Cohen on rings. Cohen rallied a 13.800 this weekend punctuated with a dynamic double double dismount, currently outpacing his 2025 All-American event run. Vault went toe to toe, seeing seven of eight vaulters hit or eclipse a 13.900. Luke James claimed the title in a packed field with his stuck Kas 1 ½, claiming a 14.500. Fellow Husker Nathan York ran away with a pommels title of his own, nabbing a 14.000 with more than a point ahead of teammate Wyatt Reynolds’ 12.950 for second. The electric battle of specialists furthered each program’s lead on the conference across their respective strongest events, with the Buckeyes growing their lead on high bar and the Huskers maintaining dominance on floor and vault. 

Illinois at Penn State

This past weekend saw a high stakes rematch between Illinois and Penn State, after totaling the same team score at the Sam Mikulak Invitational in week three. Penn State rose to the occasion competing at home, this time besting the visiting Illini by nearly six points. Illinois’ heavy hitters were once again Nathan Whitaker and Garrett Schooley across floor and vault, finishing one-two (13.600 and 13.400)  and one-three (14.350 and 13.900) respectively. The two put up formidable routines, though Preston Ngai’s day was twice as long and seemingly twice as taxing as last week. Floor and rings proved costly for the Illini, whereas the Nittany Lions were able to stay level across five of their six events. Luke Esparo’s 14.100 rings set took the event title, and his 13.550 on parallel bars was good for a runner up spot behind teammate Landon Simpson and Illinois’ Sam Kaplan at 13.650 each. Sam Phillips put up his second career routine as an Illini, earning a 13.500 on high bar and nearly overtaking event champion Akseli Karsikas with a 13.700 of his own.

William & Mary at Springfield College

William & Mary at Springfield was filled with great gymnastics and historic program records. Springfield recorded their highest team score in program history with a massive 310.550. The Pride's highest event total came on the pommel horse with a 53.850, showing the great work these athletes displayed on one of the most difficult apparatuses. Pommel specialists Peyton Cramer and Devon Felsenstein performed tremendous routines, Cramer scoring a 14.450, claiming the event title, and Felsenstein right behind him with a 14.300. Blaise Rousseau was also a notable gymnast on the still rings, setting a program record with his 13.850, with his solid back-uprise straight planche lower to maltese. William & Mary finished up their meet with a 303.100, which is their highest of the season. There were notable performances from athletes such as Niko Greenly’s 13.600 on the floor exercise, winning the event title. Greenly displayed difficult combination tumbling passes and had very well executed landings, not giving up much for the judges to take. Evan Wilkins also displayed a clean high bar routine with high-flying Tkatchevs and a stuck full twisting double layout dismount. 

Greenville at Oklahoma

Head coach Mark Williams seemed to be resting some of his athletes and had a modified lineup for Sunday's competition. Despite the modified lineup, the Sooners hit 23 of 24 routines and had the week's highest team score with a 320.000. We saw debut routines from athletes such as Arthur Ballon, who tied for first on the floor exercise with a 13.700, demonstrating beautiful artistry and a difficult back 2 ½ punch double front combination pass. Ignacio Yockers looked excellent in the lead-off position on pommel horse routine, with a huge 14.350, also taking the pommel horse event title. Fuzzy Benas ended the competition off for the Sooners on the high bar with high-flying Cassina and Kolman releases and a stuck double-twisting double layout dismount, posting a 14.050.  Benas also won the parallel bars with the debut of his double pike dismount, which, according to Benas, he “has not done since middle school.”  A huge notable routine came from Leo Koike, who hit an excellent high-bar routine, scoring a 13.100, after some difficulties with consistency in the past. It wasn't a perfect meet for Greenville and head coach Zach Peters, but they showed a lot of great gymnastics and good fight throughout the competition, which is important for this new team. The Panthers struggled on high bar, but had their highest showing on vault with a 55.100, just two tenths behind second ranked team, Oklahoma. Jackson Clapper tied Arthur Ballon for the floor event title with a clean floor routine, also recording a 13.700. Logan Watterson ranked third on the vault with a 14.000 on his clean Kasamatsu 1 ½ twists. Greenville recorded a 305.650 team score, which is their second-highest team score of the season so far.

Week 4 conference outlook

Big Ten

Michigan had to sit and watch the rest of the conference’s storylines evolve this week, as the lone Big Ten team on a bye. The storylines in question are shaping to be a battle for event dominance as a team, with each now having competed at least twice to put up an average. Nebraska after two meets remains at the lead across leg events and parallel bars after travelling to Ohio State, who’s at the top of the conference on high bar. The Wolverines spearheaded by Aaronson Mansberger hold a commanding lead on pommels, where they’ve distanced themselves by over a point from Penn State as the closest challenger by average. While Mansberger is a force to be reckoned with on his own, the rest of the Michigan horse lineup has risen to the challenge of defending their national title – four of the top eight in the Big Ten come from Michigan on the event. The inverse holds true on rings, with Penn State now leading Michigan in second, having jumped ahead of Illinois. Illini Hasan Aydogdu and Garrett Schooley have been instrumental in their team’s efforts to stay in the rings conversation, but will need consistent reinforcement to push back at Penn State’s one-two-three punch of Luke Esparo, Matt Underhill, and Akseli Karsikas. The all-around race has taken a backseat with projected heavy hitters still resting, and the elusive 80.000 still yet to be achieved; Ohio State’s David Ramirez and Drake Andrews have come close at 79.800 and 79.400 respectively. All five teams will see action this coming weekend, with two in-conference rivalries and Ohio State travelling to Oklahoma’s tri meet.

MPSF

The Sooners were the lone representation of the MPSF Conference this week, with Air Force, Cal, and Stanford resting. The lineup Mark Williams put up against Greenville wasn’t their strongest, but the results were very hopeful for the Sooners. The Sooners were consistent and clean, with a high hit percentage, and ended up with a competitive 320.0 team score. Many Sooners made their first appearances of the year here, including Colin Flores, Tyler Flores, Arthur Ballon, and Leo Koike. This weekend was a great example of Oklahoma’s depth and their preparedness as the season progresses and we get closer to the Conference and National Championship. Fuzzy Benas won MPSF Specialist of the Week honors with his parallel bar and highbar titles. Leo Koike earned MPSF gymnast of the Week after performing well on floor, vault, and high bar. Koike has struggled in the past on the high bar, so it was great to see him show out big for the Sooners with his difficult releases and artistry. Aiforce and Ohio State will be competing at Oklahoma this upcoming weekend for alumni night, in a highly anticipated tri-meet. California will be competing at Greenville, and Stanford will be taking another bye week.

ECAC

William and Mary, Springfield, and Greenville competed for the ECAC this weekend. Springfield's historic 310.55 showed great promise for the rest of the season as they are trending up, while increasing difficulty and working on execution. They have a talented roster and are filled with confidence going into their next meet. In addition, their pommel squad is on par with the best teams in the NCAA. With performances from Peyton Cramer and Devon Felsenstein, it will be interesting to see how they continue to develop as they move closer to the championship season. William and Mary also had their highest score of the season so far with that 303.1, which is also promising for head coach Mike Powell’s team. Freshman Nicholas Kosarikov has been a familiar face in the Tribe lineup so far this season. As he continues to get more experience and repetitions under his belt, he will be a large contributor to the Tribe’s teamscore come postseason. Evan Wilkins has been a big part of the Tribe’s floor and rings lineup over the years. In the competition against Springfield, Wilkins only competed on the parallel bars and high bar. His integration back into these lineups will help the tribe greatly as the season continues. Big scores on floor and vault from Niko Greenly will also continue to be important, as he is a top scorer with great power and artistry on these events. Greenville’s Jackson Clapper is competing as a leader for his team. A share of the event title on floor with a 13.7 and a 13.45 on parallel bars were notable scores for the Panthers. Kyler Hinson won ECAC Gymnast of the Week with his solid performances on floor, pommel horse, parallel bars, and high bar. His consistent and reliable scores will be crucial for the Panthers as they go into their next competitions. 

Over the four meets we were privileged to this past week, we saw four teams on the breakaway to win their afternoons – a sharp turn of events from only week prior, where the final scores shook out a tie and a handful of nailbiters. If any teams have made the case for being the main characters this week it was Stanford, regaining the national lead by team average over Oklahoma. Springfield College was the dark horse of the week, with their pommel horse ranking (led by tandem Peyton Cramer and Devon Felsenstein) jumping from No. 9 nationally to No. 6. After four weeks of competitions, the Pride holds sixth as the highest event ranking for an ECAC team this season. 

This coming weekend promises big storylines across a handful of rivalry matches, all on Saturday. One of the biggest rivalries in all of sports, Army vs. Navy will have see their second competition, and first as a dual with Army travelling to Annapolis to take on the midshipman. Penn State and Nebraska will also meet, a rematch of last year’s competition that decided the regular season BIG 10 champions! 

Week Four Schedule:

All Times EST.

Saturday, February 7th

1:00 pm Michigan @ Illinois  - Live Stats | Video (Big+)

1:00 pm California, Simpson @ Greenville  - Live Stats

2:00 pm Army @ Navy  - Live Stats

5:00 pm Penn State @ Nebraska  - Live Stats

7:00 pm Air Force, Ohio State @ Oklahoma  - Live Stats | Video