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Two Oklahoma Gymnasts Take Home Conference Accolades

Zach Nunez and Kelton Christiansen landed weekly honors from the MPSF after another impressive performance by the Sooners last week.

John E. Hoover

Two Oklahoma Gymnasts Take Home Conference Accolades
Two Oklahoma Gymnasts Take Home Conference Accolades /

By OU Media Relations

Oklahoma men’s gymnastics senior Zach Nunez was named the MPSF Gymnast of the Week and sophomore Kelton Christiansen was named the MPSF Specialist of the Week after leading the Sooners to a win at Simpson on Saturday, the conference office announced Tuesday.

Nunez won the parallel bars title and scored 14-plus on his two other events, registering a combined 42.300 on his three events to pace Oklahoma on Saturday. The Cypress, TX, product set a season high with his 13.850 parallel bars routine to claim the event title. He also notched a 14.450 on his first vault of the season and posted a 14.000 on pommel horse, placing second on both events.

Christiansen won the high bar event title and scored a combined 27.600 on his two events for the Sooners. The Arvada, CO, product supplied his second straight 14-plus routine on high bar by scoring 14.200 and was the only gymnast to score a 14 or above on the event Saturday. Christiansen also led off the Sooners on pommel horse, notching a 13.400, which was his second-highest pommels score of the season. He ranks second nationally on high bar with his 14.300 average.

This is the third career MPSF Gymnast of the Week honor for Nunez (won the award twice last season) and the first for Christiansen. 

Oklahoma gymnasts have now won 11 MPSF weekly awards this season. Redshirt sophomore Fuzzy Benas was named MPSF Gymnast of the Week on Jan. 23 and Feb. 13, sophomore Ignacio Yockers was named Specialist of the Week on Jan. 23, Feb. 6 and Feb. 13, junior Emre Dodanli was named Specialist of the Week on Jan. 16 and Jan. 30, and freshman Colin Flores was named Freshman of the Week on Jan. 23 and Feb. 6.

The Sooners take a break from NCAA team competition this weekend for USA Gymnastics Winter Cup, which will be held Feb. 23-25 in Louisville, Ky. Benas, Flores, Yockers, Jack Freeman, and OU alumnus Yul Moldauer are set to compete at Winter Cup. Oklahoma returns to NCAA action March 2 at Michigan.

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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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