FORT WORTH — With OU's team doctor closely observing, Olivia Trautman approached the beam for her final event with the Sooners.
The fifth-year senior, who was advised to not return for a final season because of past injury risks, delivered a 9.825 in her final event, although at one point she wasn't supposed to be competing, let alone in front of a packed venue on Saturday afternoon at Dickie's Arena.
Trautman ultimately went against what was recommended, and in return, she helped lead Oklahoma to its second consecutive national championship and sixth overall over No. 2 Florida, No. 5 Utah and No. 6 LSU. She also became the program's seventh gymnast to ever win an individual title on Thursday.
Senior Ragan Smith and fifth year Olivia Trautman after the NCAA Women's Gymnastics National Championship on April 15.
Trautman ended her career front and center as the Sooners were handed their national championship trophy.
“Obviously I was wrong,” OU head coach KJ Kindler said of encouraging Trautman to step away prior to the season. “It was up to her at the end of the day. You have to have a huge heart, but you also have to have big guts to do something like that with your coach looking at you saying it’s time.
“So, I’m really proud she didn’t listen to me and what she’s done for this program is incredible.”
Trautman’s mother, Lisa Trautman, who was in attendance on Saturday, has been with Trautman through all her ups and downs.
“It’s bittersweet that it’s ending,” Lisa said. “But we’re excited to see where she’ll go because the Sooner program has built her into a strong individual that could probably take on anything.
"I mean there’s many gymnasts but it’s remarkable and she does it with poise, humility and integrity. She is not a show boater, she is here to do gymnastics.”
Although Lisa and the rest of Olivia’s family can’t leave their hometown of Champlin, Minnesota, every weekend for all of OU’s home meets, they were able to make the trip to Fort Worth.
Lisa said she’ll miss the Sooner family that has welcomed Olivia and the Trautman family.
“This is our family too,” Lisa said. “It's bittersweet for us. It's part of our family. We are Sooners forever. I know for sure Olivia is but our family is as well.”
Kindler shared a similar sentiment.
“What she’s done for this program is incredible,” Kindler said. “She’s got it all. She’s gonna have a great life and a great career. She’s amazing.”
OU women's gymnastics associate head coach Lou Ball hugs fifth year Olivia Trautman during the NCAA Women's Gymnastics National Championship on April 15.
OU and Trautman led from start to finish, tying its highest-ever total at a championship round in program history. Heading into the meet, the Sooners felt confident in what was about to happen, almost like they’d been there before.
"I could just feel it when everyone walked in (to the arena)," sophomore Danielle Sievers said. "They just had this level of confidence that, honestly, I hadn't seen all season. So I just had that feeling that today was our day, and we just left it all out on the floor. It was just a great day for all of us."
Kindler also noticed the team’s demeanor.
“I could tell from the warm-up that their bodies were feeling really good,” Kindler said. “You know if their bodies are in a good place and their minds are in a good place, we’re ready to go and I could tell by the energy and the camaraderie in the locker room and the way they were jelling that we were in a really good place. I was content and happy with whatever happened today.”
The road for Trautman to go out with a team national championship and individual title was tough. In September, she had an MRI on her patellar tendon and with the results shown to her, Kindler and trainer Jenn Richardson, it seemed time to retire from the sport.
While waiting for the surgery, Trautman took a backseat from competing as a student coach. The experience helped her compete at perhaps her highest level this season despite the challenges she faced.
“It was more just me learning and just adapting to the new normal until it wasn’t normal anymore,” Trautman told OU Daily on April 7. “I learned a new perspective to the side of gymnastics, just like gratitude-wise and being there for other people and helping others as much as I can when I couldn’t physically contribute myself.”
Once Trautman was cleared to begin training again, she took it slow, adding in one event at a time. Her first start of the season came on beam against Denver where she scored a 9.925.
Of those watching Trautman make her long-awaited season debut was former OU and club teammate Maggie Nichols. Nichols told OU Daily she was glad to see Trautman defy the odds.
Fifth year Olivia Trautman during the NCAA Women's Gymnastics National Championship on April 15.
“I mean there aren’t even enough words to describe how proud I am of her,” Nichols said. “I’m so happy to see that this year is the year that she’s really thriving and I hope she’s enjoying every minute of it because she deserves it.”
Trautman finally added vault and beam back to her repertoire against West Virginia on Feb. 24. She nearly returned to floor, one of her best events, but ultimately decided against it to preserve herself.
Trautman stuck 93 percent of her landings in 2022-23, but according to those closest, what set her apart was her ability to overcome obstacles while still encouraging her teammates.
“The amount of respect Olivia gets from both her coaches and her teammates is off the charts in terms of just pure heart and somebody that comes back from the issues she’s had to deal with,” associate head coach Lou Ball said. “She’s got great heart in the sense that she wants to do it but she also has that competitive edge in the sense that she can do it and does it over and over.”
Although Trautman’s days of competition are now over, her legacy is printed in OU’s program and will continue to influence her teammates, and eventual Sooners into the future.
“Our biggest inspiration on the team for sure,” Danielle Sievers said.
This story was edited by Austin Curtright.
