Fuzzy Benas flexed his arms and let out a raucous yell, feeling the energy his near immaculate vault routine had sparked.
After a pounding landing followed by stiff silence, then an explosive celebration, the freshman phenom sprinted to the sideline only to be bombarded with fist bumps, pats on the back and even a few friendly shoves from his teammates.
The moment seemed especially memorable for senior Josh Corona, who met Benas with a huge hug, lifting his younger teammate off the floor. Corona is one of five Oklahoma gymnasts who were honored at senior night on Saturday.
“I’ve looked up to all those guys since before I even got here,” Benas said of his senior teammates. “Being able to work with them and see the work that they put in to be able to do what they do… it’s been a huge honor.”
The influence of Corona, along with fellow seniors Spencer Goodell, Evan Perreault, Morgan Seyler, and Vitaliy Guimaraes proved effective as the No. 2 Sooners (13-1) topped No. 9 California (5-7) 414.200-396.000.
The Sooners overcame the absence of Guimaraes, who’s currently competing with team USA in Germany, to claim their 80th consecutive victory at McCasland Fieldhouse. Benas went on to claim the all-around victory with a 84.500, the highest all-around score in NCAA gymnastics this season.
“It’s just indescribable,” Benas said. “Knowing what I could do then seeing myself actually do it is definitely a huge confidence booster.”
Senior Alexei Vernyi kicked the night off with a 13.100 on floor before Benas and fellow freshman Emre Dodanli tallied a pair of event-high 14.200s. Goodell capped the first rotation with a 13.700 to give the Sooners an early 69.000-66.500 lead.
Freshman Raydel Gamboa stuck a 13.050 on pommel horse to begin the second rotation. Benas and Junior Alan Camillus fed off the Sooners’ early momentum by nabbing a 13.550 and 13.400, respectively. Finally, sophomore Zach Nunez earned an event-high 13.900 to close out the rotation.
Sophomore Daniel Simmons kept OU rolling with a career-high 13.700 on still rings. Goodell notched a career-high 14.050 to send Oklahoma to the halfway mark with a 204.750-196.750 lead.
Simmons continued his impressive showing on vault where he tallied a career-high 14.750. Redshirt junior Josh Corona landed a 14.600 on his first event since the Nebraska meet on Feb. 19.
Benas then stepped up and delivered the knockout punch with his career-high 15.000, extending the Sooners lead to 277.300-266.150.
“We knew we didn’t have one of our best guys here, Vitaliy,” Benas said. “And being able to get a 414 even without one of our best guys is just confirming that all the pieces that we’ve worked for through the season are falling into place.”
1️⃣5️⃣.0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ (!!!)Fuzzy earns the Sooners' highest vault score on the season and a career-high 15.000!#GymU pic.twitter.com/Y6r3wgpjKR
— Oklahoma Men's Gym (@OU_MGymnastics) March 20, 2022
Nunez and Camillus set the tone in rotation five with a pair of 13.500-plus scores on high bar. That set the stage for Benas, who continued his unprecedented showing with another event-high 14.250.
Goodell then stepped up to the bars just one week after multiple falls led to a lackluster score of 10.850. Fortunately for the senior captain, he rebounded with a 13.600 to add to an already impressive night.
“We modified his routine a little bit and made sure that he was more comfortable with the sequence,” OU coach Mark Williams said. “He did it really well (in practice) on Thursday, and I felt like he deserved to get back in the lineup and get another opportunity. It was almost three points higher than last time, so we’ll definitely take that.”
Benas closed out an eventful night with a 13.600 and junior Jack Freeman then sent the squad home victorious with a 14.050.
“I think it was all about the energy,” Williams said. “As the meet was going on…they were actually getting into it a little bit more. We already had the meet locked up probably by the fifth event but they were also interested in making a statement that we’re not done yet.”
The Sooners hope to retain their energy as they head into the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship looking to claim a 10th consecutive conference title. There, OU will meet No. 1 Stanford, seeking to avenge its lone defeat this season.
The Sooners will compete in the MPSF Championship at 8 p.m CT on April 2 in Palo Alto, California.
“Stanford’s really good and having to compete at their place will be a very difficult challenge,” Williams said. “I think I need to call the coach at St. Peters and see what he did to beat Kentucky, maybe that’ll help.”
