At the beginning of every season, gym fans take bets on which team will be the first to break 198. We got our answer in week three: Ball State. No, not the defending champion Sooners, the on-the-rise Golden Bears or the LSU Tigers—the MAC's Cardinals.
Arguably the biggest story of the week is just how unbelievably high the scores were at both sessions of the Tennessee Collegiate Classic; all seven teams set a season-high that was, on average, 3.250 points higher than their previous season bests. In a sport that frequently comes down to tenths, 3.250 points is… A lot. It doesn't help that the meet wasn't broadcast or streamed, leaving fans and analysts with scarce video to decipher how legitimate the scoring was.
Nevertheless, we'll do our best to break it all down in this week's power rankings!
Teams
- Oklahoma, 198.325
- California, 197.875
- LSU, 198.125
- Kentucky, 197.600
- Utah, 197.725
- Arkansas, 197.525
After watching the nation's best score rise multiple times over the weekend, the Sooners did as the Sooners do by reclaiming the top number at their Sunday afternoon quad meet. Oklahoma's first 198 of the season comes a week earlier than in 2022 and 2023, meaning it's still right on track for a three-peat.
The always steady and polished Golden Bears' second consecutive 197.875 solidifies them as the top challengers to thwart K.J. Kindler's dynasty. Finally making its home debut next weekend, California is perfectly poised to build on its hot start and become the next team to crack 198.
Jumping back into the rankings is LSU, who briefly held the NCAA's top score after a crucial Friday night home win over a rock-solid Kentucky. With Aleah Finnegan limited to one event due to wrist pain, the Tigers' relied on their touted depth and turned in their most complete meet of the season by far. Joining them and the Wildcats in the top half of the conference rankings are the Razorbacks and Crimson Tide, who tied one another in an SEC shootout for the ages. Arkansas gets the nod here, though, for following up last week's program-best opening score with the team's highest score ever despite the added pressure of being the visiting team.
The Red Rocks' ranking suffers a bit from recency bias, but the 197.725 they posted last Monday evening (i.e., January 15th) at Best of Utah speaks volumes to the team's resiliency and overall potential. Utah made the necessary adjustments to avoid repeating the mistakes made in the ESPN quad, and there's still room to grow.
Honorable Mentions: Michigan State, Iowa State
The Spartans are finally emerging from a slow start—as evidenced by their 197.475 against Penn State—and are looking far more like the team that landed in the top 10 in the preseason rankings. Meanwhile, the Cyclones' 196.900 is their highest home total since 2006 and marks the first win for head coach Ashley Miles Greig. First-time coach Greig isn't so much exceeding expectations as she is obliterating them.
PAST RANKINGS: Preseason | Week 1 | Week 2
All-Around
- Haleigh Bryant, LSU, 39.825
- Mya Lauzon, California, 39.775
- Raena Worley, Kentucky, 39.725
- Jordan Bowers, Oklahoma, 39.775
- Faith Torrez, Oklahoma, 39.625
- Leanne Wong, Florida, 39.625
Last week's top three remain in place after upping their season-high totals in week three. Bryant followed up a near-perfect vault with a 10.0 en route to posting the nation's top all-around mark of the week. However, Lauzon and Worley notched their own 9.975s (on beam and bars, respectively) to keep pace.
Somewhat unusually, Oklahoma is leaning heavily on its all-arounders this year, with junior Jordan Bowers and sophomore Faith Torrez leading the four-woman attack. Seems like a sound strategy to have two-thirds of every lineup filled with gymnasts who've broken 39.600 by week three.
Wong made her floor and all-around debuts this weekend as she led the Gators to victory at a road meet against Auburn. A slower-than-usual start has kept Florida noticeably absent from the team power rankings so far, but with a few more outings of this caliber from Wong, that likely won't be the case for much longer.
Honorable Mentions: Zoe Middleton, Katherine LeVasseur
For the first time in her college career, Oklahoma senior LeVasseur has been given the green light to compete in all four events, and she's already established herself as a potential title threat. Notching the fourth-best all-around score this season was Middleton, who hit perfection on bars to go 39.750 and set a new program record for Ball State.
➡️ SCORING: Common deduction traps and changes for the 2024 college gymnastics season
Vault
- Sage Kellerman, Michigan State, 9.950
- Haleigh Bryant, LSU, 9.975
- Mya Lauzon, California, 9.925
- Hannah Scheible, Oklahoma, 9.950
- Suki Pfister, Ball State, 10.000
- Mackenzie Wilson, Kentucky, 9.900
It's officially the Year of the Front Handspring Pike Half, being the vault of choice for five of our six on this list, plus the honorable mention.
Sophomore Kellerman and senior Bryant continue to battle for the top spot, with Kellerman getting the edge this week thanks to a definitive stick while Bryant had to dig in her heels to hold—which, apparently, one judge considered deduction-less.
The Sooners have been six Yurchenko one and a halves deep for years, so seeing Scheible break through with something different is exciting. Expect the freshman to move deeper in the lineup as her front handspring pike half continues to outscore its Yurchenko counterparts.
Anchoring Kentucky's parade of front handspring pike halves is Wilson, who continues to bring in the big numbers that have propelled the Wildcats to their top-five ranking on vault.
Pfister snagged one of six perfect 10s awarded at the Tennessee Collegiate Classic, landing her back in the power rankings after an uncharacteristic miss in week two. Head-on cell phone video showed a substantial leg separation during the pre-flight, but the judges realistically may have missed it from their sideline vantage point. Her landing was objectively spot on.
Lauzon has the sole Yurchenko one and a half to make this week's list, dialing in on the blind landing better than anyone else so far this season. Relatively inconsistent on this event in 2023, this newfound consistency has been the missing piece in her all-around performances.
Honorable Mentions: Arianna Patterson
The Kentucky grad student followed up Bryant's gold-standard vault with a near-flawless front handspring pike half of her own; there was absolutely no foot movement on the landing, plus height and distance to spare.
2024 OLYMPICS: This year's Olympic contenders and qualifiers with college ties
Bars
- Raena Worley, Kentucky, 9.975
- Lily Smith, Georgia, 10.000
- Madelyn Williams, California, 9.950
- Jade Carey, Oregon State, 9.875
- Audrey Davis, Oklahoma, 9.875
- Mara Titarsolej, Missouri, 9.975
Fans have been clamoring for Worley to get her first career 10 on vault or floor for her entire career, yet it's bars where she's nearly been perfect twice in three weeks. She was one of the nation's top all-arounders last year without breaking 9.925 on bars. Elevating her ceiling here also raises her stock in the all-around rankings.
Bars has been the breakthrough event for the 2024 rookie class, as Smith matches LSU's Konnor McClain's bars 10 from last week. Smith's routine is admittedly simple, but given how well it showcases her immaculate technique and killer toe point, we're not complaining.
Williams continues to churn out 9.9-plus scores at the end of Cal's bar lineup, just as she has for years. Her consistency continues to be as remarkable as her form. Carey and Davis dropped below the 9.9 mark this week, a rare occurrence for each of them. Be on the lookout for big rebounds in week four.
One of the most heralded offseason transfers, Titarsolej demonstrated the reason why she's anchoring Mizzou's bars lineup. While she downgraded her routine in terms of difficulty, opting for just a Pak salto instead of the full-twisting version, it proved to be a wise choice as she finished just a quarter-tenth short of her perfect career high from her time at LIU.
Honorable Mentions: Lindsay Ockler
Of the three perfect scores given out on bars at the Tennessee Collegiate Classic, Ockler's was the best of the bunch. The SEMO junior's leg form was superb and she nailed her full-twisting double back dismount. Plus, she's helped generate some hype surrounding the Redhawks' program, as they've already sold out their upcoming home meet.
PERFECT: Career perfect 10 leaders in women's college gymnastics
Beam
- Maile O'Keefe, Utah, 10.000
- Sienna Schreiber, Missouri, 9.975
- Faith Torrez, Oklahoma, 9.975
- Aleah Finnegan, LSU, 9.850
- Sierra Brooks, Michigan, 9.975
- Ragan Smith, Oklahoma, 9.975
Rebounding from a week two fall in the best way possible, O'Keefe earned the 13th 10.0 of her career to highlight the Best of Utah quad and inch closer to moving into the top 10 all-time perfect 10 leaders—now just three away from tying Michigan's Beth Wymre with 16. This is a bit of a reach, but given her current record of four 10s in her last five routines, she has an outside shot at landing a perfect NQS on the event as well.
Finnegan falls to fourth after a few leans kept her under 9.900, but Schreiber stays in second after yet another near-perfect score. There were several beam 9.975s over the weekend, including a pair from Sooners Torrez and Smith, which propelled them to a giant 49.725 total. Incredibly, that's only the second-best event score of any team on any event this season (Ball State's 49.775 on bars take the top spot…).
Brooks snagged her second consecutive 9.975, all the more impressive when you remember she dismounts with a double tuck.
Honorable Mentions: Ella Burgess, Mya Lauzon
Burgess and Lauzon are well-known for their beam prowess and are each inching closer to perfection. Lauzon's intricate mount sequence is stunning and has earned her a 10.0 in the past. Burgess aims to get there for the first time now that she's graduated from being the Crimson Tide's leadoff. Also, kudos to Kentucky's Bailey Bunn for one of the greatest beam saves of all time, right up there with Jordan Chiles' Wolfkino and Nastia's impromptu handstand.
HOW IT WORKS: College gymnastics scoring, explained
Floor
- Ella Hodges, Ohio State, 9.925
- Mya Lauzon, California, 9.925
- Sierra Brooks, Michigan, 9.950
- Jocelyn Moore, Missouri, 9.900
- Raena Worley, Kentucky, 9.950
- Leanne Wong, Florida, 9.950
With Minnesota's Mya Hooten not competing until Monday, fellow Big Ten standout Ella Hodges and her picture-perfect double pike and chest-up landings take the top spot. Hot on her heels are Brooks—who followed up a perfect 10 in week two with a 9.950—and Lauzon with her ever-consistent front tumbling.
Moore retains her spot in the rankings with another big double layout and 9.900 that helped the Tigers score a critical road score (and win) at Georgia, as well as a top 10 spot in the rankings.
Worley climbs into the top six on what is arguably her best event; she hit 9.950 for the second week in a row. Here's hoping this is the year she finally gets her long-awaited perfect 10.
Wong took to the floor for the first time this season and opted for a simpler double pike instead of her previous opening pass of a piked double Arabian, making up the difficulty with tougher turns and leaps. It was a smart decision.
ALL-TIME GREATS: Breaking down the tiers of all-time NCAA women's gymnastics programs
Honorable Mentions: Kiya Johnson, Karli Franz
One of the highlights of the weekend was watching Johnson earn another 10.0 on the floor almost a year to the day she tore her Achilles on the event. One of the greatest LSU floor performers in history (at a program known for floor), her last few seasons have been marred by injury, so to see her tumble freely and perfectly was a delight. Franz has also been a stalwart on floor for Kent State. She's been close to perfect numerous times, but finally upped her career high to a 10.0 at the Tennessee Collegiate Classic.
