COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Entering with a No. 2 national ranking, Stanford put up a 423.150 on Saturday to win its second consecutive MPSF championship. The MPSF crown is the sixth overall for Stanford in program history.
Stanford's team score was just off its season high of 423.550 from a tri-meet against Navy and Air Force on March 11. No. 1 Oklahoma took second with a score of 409.500, followed by Air Force (397.350) and California (388.600) in third and fourth, respectively.
The Cardinal managed to win four individual event titles in addition to the all-around crown – which went to MPSF Gymnast of the Year Asher Hong with a score of 83.700.
Hong also won the parallel bars title with a 14.800, while Khoi Young (season-best 14.750) finished first on pommel horse and Mark Berlaga (14.600) topped all competitors on still rings. Zach Martin and Taylor Burkhart both managed a 14.800 on vault to post the night's top score, but Martin had the tiebreaker based on execution to claim the title.
The Cardinal set new season bests on floor (69.250) and horizontal bar (69.150) en route to victory.
Nicolas Kuebler took second on floor with a score of 14.100, while Riley Loos finished fourth in the event at 14.050.
Young's 14.750 on pommel horse proved well ahead of any other gymnast, as Air Force's Patrick Hoopes took second with a score of 14.000. Colt Walker, making his season debut after coming back from injury, finished fourth at 13.900.
The top-ranked still rings team in the nation, Stanford finished in each of the top five spots in the event. Berlaga was followed by Ian Gunther (14.450), Hong (14.450), Kuebler (14.400) and Loos (14.350).
After Martin and Burkhart finished atop the standings, Hong and Brandon Briones shared fourth on vault with identical scores of 14.550.
Senior J.R. Chou finished third overall on parallel bars based on execution score, posting a score of 14.400 to match Spencer Goodell of Oklahoma. Chou would also place second on horizontal bar with a mark of 14.350.
The Cardinal will now prepare for the NCAA Championship weekend April 14-15 in State College, Pa. Stanford will be looking to win its fourth consecutive national title.
