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With Oklahoma out of the mix, here’s how Florida gymnastics can finally win it all

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With Oklahoma out of the mix, here’s how Florida gymnastics can finally win it all



Florida gymnastics left the Lone Star State back-to-back years with a sour taste. With the National Championship Saturday, can Florida finally win it this year?

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The roster is vastly different, but the Florida gymnastics team will head into the NCAA National Championship meet Saturday afternoon with the same intention.

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Don’t play second fiddle.

Two years in a row, the Gators stomped into Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, looking to win the program’s first national title since 2015.

In 2022 and 2023, UF was swamped by Boomer Sooner.

But Oklahoma suffered a truly stunning third place finish Thursday night after a rough start on vault. OU failed to advance to Saturday’s Team Final.

Florida and Utah, though, took care of business. The Gators came in a close second to the Utes with a 197.8750 final score.

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No. 4 UF will now face No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Cal and No. 5 Utah for the national title.

Here’s how the Gators can win their first title since 2015:

Florida gymnastics must perform at Regionals level

Throughout the 2024 season, the Gators pulled off a neat little trick, accomplished by no other team in the country.

Each week, from meet one to meet eight, Florida’s score improved. It began at a 197.10 in its opening meet win and jumped to 198.225 vs Kentucky on March 3.

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That stretch crashed down to earth at SEC Championships where the Orange and Blue tallied a lackluster 197.300, fourth behind LSU, Kentucky and Alabama.

UF knew how to respond, though, and delivered two great showings in front of a home crowd.

A 197.925 in the Regional Semifinals on April 5, and a season-high 198.325 at Regional Final April 7.

Former U.S. Olympian John Roethlisberger will be calling the action Saturday on ABC. He said in a media availability earlier this week that Florida must perform like it’s in the O’Dome.

“They need to repeat their Regionals performance,” Roethlisberger said. “It’s going to be tight, and everyone needs to be at their best. Florida is one of them.”

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What made UF’s score in the Regional Final so impressive is the versatility.

Its vault, bars, beam and floor score were all a 49.500 or higher. Roethlisberger was especially impressed with the play of Florida’s freshman.

Two of them, Skylar Draser and Anya Pilgrim, competed and each averaged a 9.90 or higher.

“Maybe they aren’t as frequently getting those 10s, but my gosh, to get those freshman contributing at that level right away,” Roethlisberger said. “They’ve done a remarkable job.”

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Florida continued that balance Thursday night. The Gators scored a 49.450 or better on all rotations, capped off by a 49.500 on vault.

The top three vault scores in the later semifinal were courtesy of Florida — Leanne Wong (9.9375), Ellie Lazzari (9.9250) and Anya Pilgrim (9.9125).

Capitalize on mistakes around you

Florida did a solid job Thursday of ignoring the chaos around it.

As Oklahoma suffered three falls on vault that sent Dickies Arena into a frenzy, coach Jenny Rowland kept the Gators focused on their larger mission.

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It paid off as UF rolled back OU and Alabama.

Now, the field is suddenly wide open. Three-time Olympic Gold Medalist Aly Raisman said on the ESPN2 broadcast that she doesn’t favor one team heading into Saturday.

Still, the Bayou Bengals enter Saturday as likely betting favorites. LSU was the nation’s only squad to top the 198 mark and feature Haleigh Bryant, the nation’s all-around champion.

Like with Oklahoma, Florida hopes LSU will stumble on vault. The Tigers score of 49.325 lags behind the Gators.

UF, though, must take its gymnastics up a notch on beam and floor, where LSU ranked first in the nation this season.

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When the Gators beat the Tigers head to head February 23 at the O’Connell Center, they won on vault and beam. While LSU won on floor, Florida scored a season-best 49.700.

Those are the types of numbers that’ll need to be placed to toppled the Tigers.

No shame in second

While Florida’s chances have risen exponentially after Thursday’s results, a title is still far from a sure thing.

Raisman said that if Florida lands in second like its past two years, that’s something Gator Nation should be proud of.

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“I always like to say winning second place,” Raisman said. “I think it’s really important to recognize the consistency and how impressive that is. It comes down to whatever team does what they do every day in the gym, which is much easier said than done.”

Fellow ESPN commentator John Roethlisberger continued and noted that coach Jenny Rowland has done her best coaching job at Florida this season.

This past offseason, the Gators saw Trinity Thomas graduate, Kayla DiCello and Skye Blakely take the year off for Olympic training, Riley McCusker miss the season due to injury, and Savannah Schoenherr transfer to LSU.

“I said this to Jenny, but this was the, ‘oh wait until next year, year,’” Roethlisberger said. “Nobody should be in the situation they’re in, if you’ve lost that much gymnastics.”

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The Team Final begins Saturday at 4 p.m. on ABC.

Noah Ram covers Gainesville-area high school sports and University of Florida athletics for The Gainesville Sun. Contact him at Nram@gannett.com and follow him @Noah_ram1 on Twitter.





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Traffic stop goes viral after Florida deputy accuses driver missing right hand of holding phone

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Traffic stop goes viral after Florida deputy accuses driver missing right hand of holding phone


PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Video of a traffic stop in Palm Beach County is going viral over an awkward exchange between the driver and a deputy who accused her of holding a phone while driving.

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“You drove past me holding a phone with your right hand, manipulating that phone,” the deputy tells 36-year-old Kathleen “Katie” Thomas.

“Obviously not,” Thomas says while laughing and holding up her right arm, showing that she’s missing her right hand.

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“So you wanna call this a day?” she asks.

“I don’t want to call this a day. You had a hand up, manipulating,” the deputy responds.

“You just said my right hand,” Thomas counters.

“Well, I thought I saw your right hand,” the deputy says.

“So you didn’t,” Thomas responds.

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Thomas posted the bodycam footage on Instagram and TikTok where it gained millions of likes.

In the video, although she shows the deputy she doesn’t have a right hand, the deputy doubled down.

“I’m asking you now; did you or not have your phone in your hand?” the deputy asks.

“I did not,” Thomas responds.

“You did not have your phone in your hand?” the deputy asks again.

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“I did not,” Thomas responds.

“Hand to God, you didn’t have a phone in your hand?” the deputy asks.

“Hand to God,” Thomas says.

Court records show Thomas was given a $116 citation despite the presented evidence, but it was later dismissed at the request of the deputy involved.

Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.





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Blue Origin New Glenn rocket explodes on launch pad in Florida

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Blue Origin New Glenn rocket explodes on launch pad in Florida


A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded Thursday night on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida. 

The explosion occurred at about 9 p.m. ET. Blue Origin said there were no injuries from the incident. 

“We experienced an anomaly during today’s hotfire test,” Blue Origin said in a statement. “All personnel have been accounted for. We will provide updates as we learn more.”

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station also confirmed in a separate statement that “all personnel have been accounted for and there were no injuries/fatalities.”

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A Blue Origin rocket explodes on a launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida. May 28, 2026. 

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Blue Origin was scheduled to fuel the rocket Thursday evening ahead of a planned test firing of the rocket’s engines.

Blue Origin, which is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, successfully launched its third New Glenn rocket last month.

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This rocket was being prepared for the fourth New Glenn mission as soon as June 4 to launch 48 satellites for Amazon’s Leo internet service, which competes with Elon Musk’s Starlink. 

The 48 satellites were not aboard the rocket during the test. It was not immediately clear how much damage the launch pad and ground equipment sustained, or how long it might take to repair it.

Space Launch Complex 36, where the explosion occurred, is the only launch pad equipped to launch New Glenn rockets.

The New Glenn rocket is key to Blue Origin’s and NASA’s moon base plans, and the explosion will likely be a setback. Next year, the New Glenn is supposed to launch another Blue Moon lander as part of the Artemis III mission in low Earth orbit.

In a social media post, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote, “Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult. We will work with our partners to support a thorough investigation of this anomaly, assess near-term mission impacts, and get back to launching rockets.”  

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The New Glenn rocket had just been cleared on May 22 to return to flight after being grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration after an anomaly with the second stage during an April 19 launch.

In a statement Thursday, the FAA said it was aware that the rocket had “experienced an anomaly during a static fire test on the pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida,” adding that the “test was not within the scope of FAA licensed activities.”

The FAA also noted that “there was no impact to air traffic” from the explosion. 

Bezos wrote on X Thursday night, “It’s too early to know the root cause but we’re already working to find it. Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.”

Musk wrote: “Sorry to see this, I hope you recover quickly.”

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Florida to pay Sumrall’s assistants a combined $11.2M in 2026

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Florida to pay Sumrall’s assistants a combined .2M in 2026


GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Jon Sumrall’s assistants will make a combined $11.2 million in 2026, a significant investment for a program desperate to win more often.

Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner tops the list after signing a three-year, $6.6 million contract to leave Georgia Tech and join Sumrall in Gainesville. Faulker will get $2.1 million in 2026 – the first $2 million coordinator in school history – and has a $100,000 raise set for each of the next two years.

Only six college offensive coordinators were paid $2 million or more in 2025, according to CBS Sports. Fifteen defensive coordinators topped $2 million.

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Florida defensive coordinator Brad White signed a three-year, $5.85 million deal that starts at $1.85 million and also includes a $100,000 raise in 2027 and 2028.

The Gators released the contracts Thursday in response to a public records request.

Sumrall signed a six-year, $44.7 million contract last year that averages $7.45 million annually. The Gators will dole out more than $20 million to Sumrall, his staff of 15 assistants and a front office led by new general manager Dave Caldwell.

Four of the assistants are scheduled to earn at least $1 million during their deals.

Defensive line coach Gerald Chapman and offensive line coach Phil Trautwine will join Faulker and White in the seven-figure club. Chapman, the lone holdover from former Florida coach Billy Napier’s staff, will make $950,000 this year and $1 million in 2027. Trautwine, meanwhile, starts at $750,000 and jumps to $1 million. Both signed two-year deals.

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Their salaries show Sumrall’s commitment to rebuilding the team along both lines of scrimmage in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference.

Napier’s 12-man coaching staff was paid a combined $7.5 million in 2025. The Gators posted three losing seasons in Napier’s four years.

The rest of Sumrall’s staff range between making $350,000 and $600,000 annually, all of them on two-year contracts.



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