FORT WORTH, Tex. — Oklahoma, the most dominant NCAA women’s gymnastics team this season and perhaps one of the best in the sport’s history, did not advance out of the national semifinals after a stunning series of errors Thursday night.
Oklahoma
In stunning collapse, Oklahoma gymnastics fails to advance to NCAA final
“This was character-building for this team,” Oklahoma Coach K.J. Kindler said afterward on the ESPN broadcast. “They fought back hard. It was emotional. I give them all the credit for gutting it out through the whole end of it. It was tough.”
The Sooners’ unraveling began at the start. On vault, the Sooners’ first apparatus of the evening, three Oklahoma gymnasts had major mistakes. Faith Torrez, the first gymnast to compete, fell on her 1½-twisting vault, then Jordan Bowers and Katherine LeVasseur barely stayed on their feet with multiple deep steps backward on the same skill. Teams can only drop one score per apparatus so two of those low marks (9.45 and 9.375) factored into the Sooners’ total.
From then on, Oklahoma’s chances of a comeback were slim and probably would have required major mistakes from other teams. Alabama had a meltdown on beam with four falls, but Utah (197.9375 final score) and Florida (197.875) held steady. The Sooners’ hopes evaporated in the third rotation when LeVasseur and Ava Siegfeldt fell during their beam routines.
“They were trying to put everything into it, but at the same time, the emotions, I think, were taking over a little bit,” Kindler said of her team’s response to the early mistakes on vault.
Oklahoma may have been able to weather its errors on the beam, especially with the other four gymnasts scoring a 9.9375 or higher, if not for the disastrous start on vault.
In that first rotation, Oklahoma tallied a 48.325, more than a point lower than the majority of the team’s showings on that apparatus this season. The Sooners hadn’t scored that low on any apparatus since January 2021, and since 2012 Oklahoma had previously struggled that much on only two occasions.
The hallmark of this Oklahoma team had been its consistency, which makes Thursday’s disappointing showing all the more jarring. Before this competition, Oklahoma hadn’t scored lower than a 197.775 all season. Several hours before the Sooners’ session began, LSU Coach Jay Clark called Oklahoma the “prohibitive favorite” to win the final.
The Sooners have notched 11 of the top 20 scores in the country this season, according to Road to Nationals, the website that maintains all NCAA gymnastics scores. That’s the most scores in the top 20 for any team since 1998, when Road to Nationals began recording data.
The Sooners’ extraordinary dominance made them appear unstoppable. With a successful showing here en route to another national title, this Oklahoma squad may have been considered the greatest NCAA gymnastics team ever. But now, despite their accomplishments before this weekend, the Sooners will be remembered as the juggernaut that finished with a shocking collapse.
Oklahoma
Does Drew Mestemaker Have Path to Heisman at Oklahoma State?
Oklahoma State hasn’t had a Heisman winner since 1988, but it might have a candidate next season.
Throughout OSU football history, there have been some iconic players to roll through Stillwater and plenty more iconic college football seasons. Most recently, Ollie Gordon’s 2023 campaign sent shockwaves through the college football landscape as he broke out to become the nation’s leading rusher and led OSU to a Big 12 Championship appearance and a 10-win season.
Of course, that would be the final big season of the Mike Gundy era. After that 10-4 campaign that saw OSU reach heights no one could have expected, the Cowboys fell off a cliff, winning only four games since.
With Gundy now out at OSU, Eric Morris is looking to bring another era of success to Stillwater, and it might all start with a bang with Drew Mestemaker running the show under center in 2026. Last season, Mestemaker was the starting quarterback for Morris’ North Texas squad and established himself as one of the top passers in the country.
While OSU has seen guys like Brandon Weeden, Mason Rudolph and Zac Robinson over the years, it’s been a while since the Cowboys have had an elite gunslinger, which Mestemaker could soon be in Stillwater. With the Mean Green in 2025, Mestemaker finished with 4,379 yards, 34 touchdowns and nine interceptions, marks which would make him the talk of college football if he can repeat that against Big 12 competition.
Of course, any Heisman campaign for Mestemaker will be about much more than his impressive numbers on the field. OSU has managed to win only two games against FBS teams in the past two years and is riding a 19-game Big 12 losing streak.
Anything Mestemaker can do in the stat sheet is great, but his real impact that would catch Heisman-like attention is how his play changes the Cowboys’ fate. If OSU can climb back into the Big 12 title picture in just one season after a 1-11 record in 2025, Mestemaker will almost certainly be at the front of that story. After Fernando Mendoza’s Heisman run at Indiana, the stage is clearly set for players like Mestemaker to use immense team success to their advantage in the Heisman race.
Perhaps putting Mestemaker in any sort of Heisman talks is premature, but considering his year at North Texas and how quickly turnarounds can happen in this era of college football, don’t be shocked if a Cowboy is at the Heisman ceremony in December.
Oklahoma
Two arrested on murder complaints following fatal NW OKC sledding crash
Two people were arrested on murder complaints following a deadly sledding crash in northwest Oklahoma City Sunday night, according to police.
Police said the crash happened near Northwest 81st Street and Northwest Walker Avenue.
According to police, Makayla Mitchell, 31, was on a sled being pulled by a car driven by Angel Walzier, 22. Police said the rope connecting the sled to the car broke, and caused Mitchell to stop in the street.
Police said James Kirk, 24, was in a separate car and hit Mitchell.
Mitchell was pronounced dead on the scene, police said.
Kirk and Walzier were both evaluated by a Drug Recognition Officer, who believed they both showed signs of impairment.
Police said blood draw warrants were completed for Kirk and Walzier.
Kirk was arrested on multiple complaints, including murder II, aggravated DUI, child endangerment, and causing fatality collision w/o a license.
Walzier was arrested on complaints of murder II and aggravated DUI.
Oklahoma
ODOT warns Oklahomans of black ice forming overnight Sunday
Oklahoma Department of Transportation is warning travelers of black ice throughout the state, discouraging any travel overnight Sunday.
Black ice is defined as a dangerous hazard that blends in with the dark road where it appears wet, but is a thin layer of ice that can cause cars to slide while driving.
Agency officials say they are continuing the roadway treatments and plowing statewide, with minor improvements in West and North/Central Oklahoma roadways.
ODOT says there are still various interstates and highways that can remain slick and snow-covered, including some in OKC and Tulsa.
If travel is necessary, drive with extreme caution.
You can find traffic advisories through the official ODOT portal here.
Live blog tracking Oklahoma traffic impacts, snow totals, and closures in Oklahoma City and surrounding areas.
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