FORT WORTH, Texas – Limited by injury all season, Oklahoma senior Faith Torrez was not considered among the front-runners for the NCAA all-around title entering Thursday’s semifinals.
In fact, having not competed in all four events throughout the season and only competing in the uneven bars and balance beam since February, her participation in the all-around seemed unlikely.
But Torrez not only made her 2026 all-around debut in the sophomore season Thursday night, she beat the reigning Olympic and world champion to claim NCAA gymnastics’ top individual honor with a total score of 39.7875.
Even Torrez could not hide his surprise at the result.
“If you had done [told] I probably found out two and a half weeks ago that I’m in this position right now and have been doing four [events]”Like living my dream right now, I’ll probably laugh at you,” Torrez said after the trophy ceremony. At the beginning of the season, I had no intention of doing it in the middle of the season, but it was really amazing to come here and watch every game. “I’m really grateful for that.”
Coach KJ Kindler said Torrez asked if she could start training on floor again after the SEC Championships in late March. She started slowly – and hadn’t even done the entire routine until earlier this week.
“He’s very talented,” Kindler said. “Amazing air awareness, great feeling of being able to do it when you’ve been away from it for so long. So all credit to the athlete on the field who made that decision and felt comfortable and strong enough with their body to do it.”
Torrez’s strong performance, which helped propel the defending champion Sooners back into Saturday’s championship contest, was overtaken by LSU’s Kailin Chio. Chiyo, the country’s top-ranked all-rounder for most of the season, achieved the highest score (39.6125) after the afternoon session and finished runner-up. Florida’s EMJ Frazier finished third.
Torrez’s win capped off an eventful day of gymnastics at Dickies Arena. In the afternoon session, Florida, the reigning SEC champion, won relatively easily (197.7875), but LSU, the 2024 NCAA champion, needed to fight until the last rotation to give the edge to a revitalized Georgia team. Tigers coach Jay Clark said he was proud of his team’s determination.
“Well, we’ve made it interesting,” Clark said. “It wasn’t our best day in a long time, but…we learned [in the first week of the season] We were fighters and they could fight things and not give up and just keep swinging. And that’s what they did.”
In the night session, Oklahoma took control from the first rotation on vault and never relinquished it, earning the day’s top score of 198.3000. But defending Big Ten champion and No. 4-ranked team UCLA struggled in its first event on bars, including an uncharacteristic fall from senior and Olympic gold medalist Jordan Chiles. The Bruins bounced back and finished in second place entering the final event. However, an error-prone vault rotation and Minnesota’s strong performance on bars changed the fortunes of both teams.
By the end of the season, Minnesota – which upset perennial contender Utah in the regional finals earlier this month – punched its ticket to its first NCAA championship with a 197.4625, and UCLA (197.2625) dashed its national championship hopes. As the Gophers celebrated joyfully after the final score was announced, the Bruins were devastated and embraced in tears.
“I’m very proud of these guys,” Minnesota coach Jenny Henson said moments later on ESPN. “They believed we could do it and they walked in with that same belief today and stayed steady the whole way. I’m very proud of them. I’m still in a little bit of disbelief. What a night.”
Four other gymnasts won individual event titles during a roller-coaster day. Torrez’s teammate Keira Wells was among them after scoring 9.9750 in the lead-off position on vault.
Fifth-year senior and former national team standout Riley McCusker of Florida earned her first national championship on bars. In her only event of the day and the Gators’ final rotation, McCusker was the last player to compete, and her teammates were chanting for 10 after she landed. Four out of six judges gave it only 9.9875.
Speaking to the media after the afternoon session, McCusker was quick to credit his teammates for his success.
“Seeing my guys step up and do their thing and really be able to build on their success gave me a lot of confidence,” McCusker said. “A win for one is a win for all. And being able to go out there after seeing your guys do the best that they can do and be like, ‘Okay, this is my normal for what I have to do.’ And yes, that’s what happened.”
Capping off Minnesota’s historic night, Brooklyn Rowre won the beam title and became the second Gopher to top the podium.
Chiles concluded her storied collegiate career with a floor title. It was her fourth individual NCAA championship – but not the one she desperately wanted.
Speaking to ESPN before nationals, Chiles said a team title “would mean everything.” The Bruins finished runner-up in 2025.
UCLA won’t have that chance Saturday, but Oklahoma, Minnesota, Florida and LSU will. Despite the Sooners’ dominant performance on Thursday, Kindler said nothing is guaranteed and work must be done to bring home the program’s eighth NCAA team title since 2014.
“We are not planning to replicate [Thursday’s performance],” Kindler said. “Saturday is a new day. And so I’m sure it will bring new challenges, new results, all kinds of things. The process is what we are focusing on right now, recovery is extremely important for our team so that we can feel good physically and mentally. Continuity is important for us and if we can stay close to who we are, we’ll have a great night.”
