No. 1 Oklahoma (19-2) defeated No. 15 Denver (12-7), West Virginia (14-7, 0-4) and Iowa State (9-10, 1-4) to win the Big 12 Championship on Saturday night in Denver.
OU placed first with a 198.200, marking its sixth time this season to reach a score over 198. The Sooners’ mark was also the highest score in Big 12 championship meet history.
Denver earned second place with 197.250 while West Virginia placed third with 196.650 and Iowa State placed fourth with 196.100, respectively. Denver’s Jessica Hutchinson claimed the all-around title, scoring a 39.625, and was named Big 12 Gymnast of the Year after the meet.
Following the Sooners’ victory, fifth-year senior Carly Woodard was named Big 12 Event Specialist of the Year, freshman Jordan Bowers was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and head coach K.J. Kindler was named Big 12 Coach of the Year.
The Sooners opened the first rotation on beam, where junior Jenna Dunn started with a 9.875 and senior Olivia Trautman followed with another 9.875. Sophomore Katherine LeVasseur tallied a 9.9 in the No. 3 spot before fellow sophomore Audrey Davis added a 9.875.
Woodard led Oklahoma in the event with a 9.95, placing the Sooners first with a 49.475 heading into the second rotation.
In the next event on floor, sophomore Bell Johnson notched a 9.825 which led to a 9.9 from Woodard. Freshman Danae Fletcher and Bowers followed with a 9.85 and 9.95, respectively, leading to another 9.95 from junior Ragan Smith. Freshman Danielle Sievers closed out on floor with a career-high 9.95.
At the halfway point, the Sooners held a .875 advantage over second place Denver.
Oklahoma entered the third rotation on vault with senior Allie Stern posting a 9.775. LeVasseur tallied a 9.9 and Bowers followed with a 9.825. On her second vault of the season, Trautman notched a 9.975. Sievers added a 9.875 and Fletcher anchored with a 9.9.
Leading into the final event on bars, OU maintained a .850 lead in first place. The Sooners put the finishing touches on the conference title by closing on their strongest event, where they’re ranked No. 1 nationally.
Sievers started the fourth rotation with a 9.9 before LeVasseur scored a 9.925. Smith and fifth-year senior Karrie Thomas earned 9.95s, followed by a 9.925 from Bowers. Davis capped a superb bars performance for the Sooners with a 9.9, giving them a 49.650 on the event to finish out.
Next, the Sooners await the selection of their opponents for the NCAA South Central Regional, for which the selection committee will announce participants on March 21. The competition will be hosted by OU at the Lloyd Noble Center, making it the first regional event hosted by the school since 2015.
