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No. 1 OU men’s gymnastics (10-0) defeated No. 8 California (1-6) 331.600-315.700 at McCasland Field House on Saturday.

As the Sooners celebrated six gymnasts on senior night, they posted the highest score nationally in the 2026 season. OU outscored the Golden Bears on all six events during the meet. Particularly strong performances on vault, rings and pommel horse helped to power the Sooners to victory over California.

Here are three key takeaways:

Senior success

The Sooners relied on key performances from several senior gymnasts to secure victory.

In his final home meet for OU, Fuzzy Benas tied for the second-highest score of the meet with a 14.400 on vault. Seniors Ignacio Yockers and Kelton Christiansen also came up big for OU, with Yockers leading OU on both pommel horse and parallel bars, recording his best performance on parallel bars of the season. 

Christiansen led the Sooners on high bar with a 14.150 and also performed well on pommel horse, scoring 13.950. OU also celebrated seniors Leo Koike, Mac Seyler and Brigham Frentheway, who all contributed on multiple events.

“We wanted to make sure we sent them out on a good note,” OU men’s gymnastics head coach Mark Williams said. “And having the highest score of the season is even better.”

 

Rings improvement

Over the past few meets, OU has logged major improvements on rings.

The Sooners posted their best score of the season on the event against California, scoring 56.000. Saturday’s meet marked the fourth consecutive meet in which the Sooners have improved their rings score. Sophomore Francisco Velez Belendez posted the Sooners’ top score on the event with a 14.400. Frentheway and junior Tas Hajdu were close behind, each scoring 13.950.

“Mac Seyler’s putting in more difficulty, so, happy to see that rings score go up, and that’s an event that could make a difference at NCAAs,” Williams said.

Changing of the guard

While the seniors were being celebrated, several juniors delivered strong performances against California.

Tyler Flores grabbed OU’s highest score of the meet, recording a 14.500 on vault. He also scored 14.000 on pommel horse. Nico Hamilton led OU on floor with a 14.050, while Hajdu scored well on both rings and parallel bars. These gymnasts will look to take up the mantle next season, replacing the six seniors OU is losing.

The Sooners will close out their regular season with a rematch at California at 6 p.m. on March 21.

This story was edited by Laurie Jones.

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