The Weekly All-Around

Week 3, 2025

Another weekly recap, another week to talk about a nationwide season-high score in NCAA Men’s Gymnastics! Between a huge crowd in Norman, a Frederickflips donation, an (almost) finalized list of Winter Cup qualifiers, and an update on the GymACT scene, we’ve got a lot to talk about!

Field House Fun

The McCasland Field house at Oklahoma University had an incredible environment on Saturday night! The historic venue always seems to draw in a crowd for the Sooners’ home meets, but this week it delivered an even better atmosphere. The crowd of 1,527 witnessed their Sooners defeat Illinois with a final team score of 330.700! Yet again, this number is the new nation-high in this early season. Only time will tell how teams can perform to raise this mark, but my guess is a score in the 330s will never be overlooked. A floor total of 55.200 is by far the highest in the country, along with a high bar total at 55.900. The Sooners thank Kelton Christiansen and Emre Dodanli for helping earn those tallies. 

Don’t overlook the Fighting Illini though! They were even with OU halfway through the meet, and ended up earning a 325.500 final score. Even in a loss, this is the 3rd-highest team score in the country so far, and the Illini were able to boost their score from Week 2 by nearly six entire points. This is a very balanced team, as they used 12 separate athletes for their 24 scores. The nation’s top pommel horse team in the country hopes to keep a good season rolling as they host Nebraska this weekend. 

Wolverine Awakening

The Michigan Wolverines also had their best meet of the season last weekend! For last year’s NCAA runner-ups, it’s no secret this team has gotten off to a bit of a slow start as they sit in 6th in the standings so far in 2025. However, there’s good reason to still believe in these Wolverines. Mainly, they’ve been without their key athletes Paul Juda and Fred Richard! Last year’s Olympic Bronze medalists have been away from the Michigan team so far this season as they rest and recover from their strenuous 2024 competitive year. Most likely, Michigan will get these two back in full stride by the postseason and be ready to challenge any team.

Although, they did get Richard back in some capacity last weekend! Richard competed on pommel horse, vault, and high bar, earning event titles on his last two events. It was even a new vault for Richard, as he debuted (and stuck) a front-handspring layout rudi to earn a solid 14.000. With this all said, one of the biggest storylines from the weekend was the fact that Frederick Richard, and his ‘Frederickflips’ branding, hosted an entire competition for younger gymnasts, and donated all of the proceeds to the Springfield College men’s gymnastics team! Richard competing and hosting a meet in the same weekend shows his passion for the sport, and donating the proceeds to help fund another NCAA team is truly just remarkable. For the 2023 World All-Around Bronze Medalist, Richard seems well on his way to becoming ‘the face’ of gymnastics in our country. 

GymACT in Action: Standings, Stars, and the Road to the All-Star Meet

As you may or may not know, the NCAA is not the only competitive league for collegiate gymnastics in the U.S! This separate conference is labeled GymACT, with a total of 16 programs around the country split into east and west conferences. Just like the NCAA, GymACT is also through three weeks of competition. So far, the top five teams are:

1. Minnesota

2. Washington

3. Arizona State

4. Indi-Hio

5. Iowa

With these average standings in place, it is actually Arizona State (tied with Minnesota) who hold the highest team score of the year, both with a 298.500. Minnesota, last year’s National Champions, lost a couple of important athletes in the offseason due to graduation or transfer. However, they brought back David Grossman, a sophomore who routinely posts All-Around scores near the 80s. Arizona State has incredible recruiting, and as a team they have over 30 guys on their roster. A few notable names for this season from ASU include Aidan Myers, Nicky Franz, and Caden Peacock. 

Among the next few months, GymACT athletes will all be competing and vying for an ‘All-Star’ designation. All-Star competitors are the top 5 athletes on all apparatuses in each conference. The two conferences will align their best lineups and battle head-to-head at the 2025 GymACT All-Star competition. Stay tuned to GymACT via the official website which hosts competition streaming, event updates, and more.

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Written by Aiden Whitehead

Principal Staff Writer for TURN

About Aiden

Hello gymnastics fans! I’m Aiden and I’m super excited to join the team at TURN as the 'Principal Staff Writer'. I began competing gymnastics at the age of six and immediately fell in love with the sport. I am currently in the midst of my senior season as a competitor, serving my third year as a team captain for the Georgia United GymACT team. Last December, I graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management, with Sports Media Certification as well. I've already acquired a few years of media experience, working a variety of roles with GymACT, Virtius, and Neutral Deductions. In addition to competing, I am an active women’s team coach at Oconee Gymnastics Center, as well as the Technical Director of the Georgia Men’s Gymnastics Judging Association. Evidently — even though I am competing, coaching, and judging — I can never get enough of this sport, so I’m excited to take this new role as well!