Sooners dominate, securing NCAA Finals spot with Torrez claiming the all-around, and Wells soars to a vault title in a stunning team performance
FORT WORTH, Texas — In a dominant display of depth, precision, and championship poise, the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners women's gymnastics team cruised to a 198.300 team score in the second semifinal of the 2026 NCAA Championships at Dickies Arena on Thursday night.
The performance not only secured the Sooners' advancement to Saturday's national final but also featured two standout individual titles: senior Faith Torrez capturing the all-around national championship with a score of 39.7875, and junior Keira Wells claiming the vault title with a near-perfect 9.975.
Oklahoma finished first in Semifinal II, marking their 12th appearance in the NCAA team finals over the last 13 years and their 14th overall in program history. They will be joined in Saturday's "Four on the Floor" final by No. 13 Minnesota, which surprised many with a second-place finish of 197.4625. UCLA placed third with 197.275, while Arkansas rounded out the session in fourth at 196.9625.
From the afternoon semifinal, No. 3 Florida (197.7875) and No. 2 LSU (197.4375) advanced, setting up an elite four-team showdown for the national title on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT on ABC.
Torrez's all-around triumph was particularly special, as it came in her first all-around competition of the 2026 season. The senior from Bristol, Wisconsin, delivered a clutch performance across all four events, earning three scores of 9.95 and one of 9.9375. She becomes just the fifth Sooner to win the all-around national title, joining recent champion Jordan Bowers (2025), Anastasia Webb (2021), Maggie Nichols (2018 and 2019), and legendary Kelly Garrison (1987 and 1988).
This victory marks Torrez's second individual national title, following her beam championship in 2024. She now joins an exclusive group of Sooners with multiple national titles, alongside Nichols (six), Garrison (four), Webb (three), Brenna Dowell (two), and Audrey Davis (two).
In a heartfelt post-meet reflection, Torrez shared the emotional weight of the moment: "If you would've asked me two weeks ago if I would be in this position right now, living out my dream, I'd probably laugh at you. I had no intentions of doing this at the beginning of the season or the middle of the season but to be here and have everything play out the way it did is really amazing. I'm really grateful for that. It's a dream come true and I'm so happy to be here with my team and to be able to compete all four events."
Wells, meanwhile, delivered a spectacular lead-off performance on vault to kickstart Oklahoma's evening in unforgettable fashion. Her stuck Yurchenko 1.5 earned a 9.975, securing the individual vault title and making her the fifth OU gymnast to claim national honors on the event — the first since Olivia Trautman in 2023.
The junior emphasized a team-first mindset: "I had the mindset that anything can happen. I was ready for anything and I was just out there to do it for my team, not really for myself."
The Sooners opened the meet with a historic vault rotation that set the tone for the night. Their team score of 49.750 on vault not only shattered the program record for the highest score in NCAA Championship competition but also stands as the highest semifinal vault score in NCAA history.
Every counting score was 9.9375 or higher, contributing to what became the second-highest team score in Oklahoma history. Wells led things off with her 9.975, followed by Hannah Scheible's stuck handspring pike half for a 9.95. Torrez added a 9.9375 in her return to the vault lineup, while Elle Mueller and Lily Pederson each stuck their 1.5 twists for 9.9375 and 9.95, respectively. Even Mackenzie Estep's 9.7875 fit into a rotation defined by exceptional execution.
Oklahoma maintained momentum on uneven bars with a solid 49.475. Pederson opened with a 9.850, Ella Murphy showcased beautiful lines for a 9.8375, and Estep delivered the first stick of the rotation with a 9.925 on her full-in dismount. Caitlin Smith, in just her fourth competitive routine of the season, nailed a double layout for a 9.9125, and Torrez anchored with a 9.95 featuring another stuck dismount.
Beam brought another strong showing at 49.5375, keeping the Sooners comfortably ahead. Addison Fatta led off with a 9.8125 in her only routine of the night, followed by Wells' steady 9.90. Murphy continued her reputation as one of the nation's elite beam workers with a 9.9375, while Pederson and Mueller posted back-to-back 9.875s.
Torrez once again anchored with a 9.95.The Sooners sealed their finals berth on floor exercise with another 49.5375. Murphy and Pederson opened with matching 9.85s, Wells added a 9.90, Mueller dazzled for a 9.9375, and Estep contributed a 9.90. Torrez made her floor debut in the anchor spot and delivered a 9.95, her third score of that caliber on the night, sending Oklahoma into Saturday's final with confidence and celebration.
With this performance, the Sooners remain in prime position to pursue their eighth national title. The journey that began with high expectations has now reached its climax in Fort Worth, where Oklahoma will face a formidable field including Florida, LSU, and Minnesota.
Fans can tune in to ABC on Saturday afternoon for what promises to be another thrilling chapter in Sooner gymnastics history.