STANFORD, Calif. - Taylor Burkhart kicked off the home slate by posting the nation’s top all-around score in front of a sold-out crowd at Burnham Pavilion, as No. 1 Stanford finished second in the Stanford Open on Saturday evening.
No. 6 Ohio State won the event with a 323.000 team score, followed by the Cardinal (319.850) and No. 9 California (319.850).
Stanford had a handful of key performers missing from the collegiate lineup, as Asher Hong, Jeremy Bischoff, Kai Uemura, and Kiran Mandava all competed under the "Team USA" banner.
Burkhart was the night's top performer, posting an 83.900 all-around score to best his previous mark of 80.400 for top score in the NCAA. Burkhart finished top three in three events, turning in a career-high on pommel horse (14.300) and new season-bests on floor (14.350), high bar (13.800), still rings (13.650), and parallel bars (13.500).
Brandon Nguyen registered his third event title of the season with a 14.000 routine on parallel bars. The fifth-year senior a turned in his season-best effort on vault with a 14.450 to finish tied for second, along with a 13.500 routine on high bar to round out his night.
Other notable performances included a 14.000 still rings routine from Mark Berlaga to finish third, a fourth-place 13.700 effort on high bar from Ian Lasic-Ellis, and, and 13.550 routines from Zach Green (high bar) and Kaien J-Spencer (pommel horse) for new career marks in their respective events.
With Team USA, Asher Hong earned an event title on still rings along with top-three finishes on both floor exercise and parallel bars. Ohio State's Kameron Nelson won both the floor exercise and vault events, while California's Aidan Li topped the field on pommel horse.
Stanford returns to action next weekend, welcoming back California to The Farm for a head-to-head meet on Sunday, February 2 at 1 p.m. PT.