STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford seniors Brandon Briones and Riley Loos have been named finalists for the 2023 Nissen-Emery Award.
Briones and Loos join Chase Clingman (Penn State), Spencer Goodell (Oklahoma), Paul Juda (Michigan), Christian Marsh (William & Mary), Donte McKinney (Nebraska) and Ian Skirkey (Illinois) as finalists for the prestigious award.
The Nissen-Emery award is given annually to the top senior gymnast in the nation. Recognized as the highest honor in the sport, it will be presented next month at the NCAA Championship Banquet in State College, Pa.
Briones is a four-time NCAA All-American, twice earning the honor in the all-around and on vault. Briones burst onto the scene in 2020, garnering a pair of CGA Gymnast of the Week honors and four National Rookie of the Week selections en route to being named the 2020 CGA Rookie of the Year.
A member of the U.S. Senior National Team during his time on The Farm, Briones finished fifth in the all-around at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team Trials to earn a spot as an Alternate for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics. He was also fourth in the all-around at the 2021 U.S. Gymnastics Championships.
A two-time CGA All-America Scholar Athlete and an MPSF All-Academic selection, Briones carries a 3.95 GPA as a mechanical engineering major.
Loos is a seven-time NCAA All-American, including an all-around selection in 2020, and won the 2022 national title on still rings with a score of 14.600. A three-time still rings All-American, he has also been lauded on floor twice and once on horizontal bar.
A member of the U.S. Senior National Team during his time at Stanford, Loos guided USA to the 2022 Pan American Championship while finishing second on floor and third on still rings. He also led the U.S. to gold at the 2022 DTB Pokal Mixed Cup and qualified for event finals on floor, rings and vault at the 2021 Koper World Challenge Cup where he debuted new skills on pommel horse and floor. Loos placed second at the 2021 U.S. Winter Cup to earn a spot on the US Senior National Team where he captured the event title on floor and vault while finishing top eight on all six events.
A three-time CGA All-America Scholar Athlete, Loos carries a 3.70 GPA as a Management Science and Engineering major.
Stanford boasts six previous Nissen-Emery Award recipients, including the 2022 winner in Brody Malone. Akash Modi (2017), Eddie Penev (2013), Dan Gill (2004), Josh Stein (1995) and Steve Hug (1974) previously won the award. Briones and Loos are looking to become the fifth honoree mentored by head coach Thom Glielmi joining Malone, Modi, Penev and Gill.
The original Nissen Award was named in honor of George Nissen, a former NCAA champion, for his contributions to men's gymnastics. The award was re-named the Nissen-Emery Award in 1998 to honor Dr. Robert Emery, a Penn State graduate, who won the Nissen Award in 1969.
The Nissen-Emery Award is inscribed with the following motto: "The true champion seeks excellence physically, mentally, socially, and morally."
