Maggie Nichols: a Honda Repeat?

OU's gymnastics superstar appeals to NCAA for relief after 2020 seniors' championship chase was cut short

In her four-year college career, Oklahoma senior has been named a finalist for the Honda Sports Award for Gymnastics four times.

It’s the award’s equivalent of a perfect 10.

The list of finalists was announced this week by the Collegiate Women Sports Award.

Nichols was previously named Big 12 Conference Gymnast of the Year for 2020 after her career was cut prematurely short by the NCAA’s COVID-19 shutdown. It was her second straight Big 12 Gymnast of the Year accolade.

Nichols, a native of Little Canada, Minn., was a finalist as a freshman and sophomore and won the Honda Sports Award as a junior in 2019.

Other finalists are Florida's Trinity Thomas, Minnesota's Lexy Ramler and UCLA's Kyla Ross.

MAGGIE NICHOLS' OU BIO

Nichols on Monday wrote an appeal to the NCAA to reinstate the opportunity for winter sport seniors to resume their chase for a championship. Nichols acknowledged the logistical difficulties of such an act, but said the class of 2020 deserves it.

“As winter sport athletes, we lost the opportunity to represent our universities at the highest level by having not only our postseason competitions canceled but our careers ended. In the blink of an eye, what we have done our entire lives was gone,” Nichols wrote.

“Most importantly, we do not have the opportunity to end our careers on our own terms.

“We deserve another opportunity to compete for these championships that we spent our entire season preparing for. … The complexity of figuring out a solution is understandable, but it is the right thing to do. We deserve one last opportunity to compete.”

Nichols finished her career as one of the most decorated gymnasts in college history. She was a six-time national champion who scored 22 perfect 10s, including five this season.

The Collegiate Women Sports Awards has honored the nation's top NCAA women athletes for 43 years, recognizing superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service.

Nichols could become the third Sooner to earn the Honda Award twice. Gymnast Kelly Garrison received the honor in 1987 and 1988, and softball player Keilani Ricketts took it home in 2012 and 2013.

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