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Oklahoma Gymnasts Land Big 12 Honors

Faith Torrez and Keira Wells were named gymnast and specialist of the week after a huge quad meet victory for the top-ranked Sooners.

John E. Hoover

Oklahoma Gymnasts Land Big 12 Honors
Oklahoma Gymnasts Land Big 12 Honors /

By OU Media Relations

Oklahoma sophomore Faith Torrez and freshman Keira Wells were named the Big 12 Gymnast of the Week and Event Specialist of the Week, respectively, the conference announced Tuesday. 

This is the second honor of the season for both athletes and the first event specialist honor for Wells, who was named newcomer of the week last week.

The duo were instrumental in leading the No. 1-ranked Sooners to an impressive 198.300 victory over No. 2 California, No. 16 Arkansas and Washington at the Metroplex Challenge. All five scores earned by the pair counted in OU’s victory. Each athlete won an event title with Wells earning her first career event title taking the top spot on vault and Torrez taking home a share of the floor title.

Torrez had a career day, setting a new career best with a 39.650 in the all-around. With her all-around mark on Saturday, all four OU all-around athletes have now tallied at least a 39.650 this season. The sophomore went 9.9 or higher on three of four events, including a 9.95 on beam and floor and a 9.9 on vault. Torrez also added a 9.85 on bars.

Wells tied her career high on vault for a 9.925 on a strong Yurchenko 1.5. The freshman took home her first career event title as one of just five athletes to score above a 9.9 at the meet. Wells has now posted a career-high 9.925 in back-to-back meets this season.

The Sooners are back in action Friday night for a conference matchup against West Virginia inside Lloyd Noble Center. The meet is set for a 6 p.m. start.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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