Oklahoma’s Faith Torrez claims surprise NCAA all-around gymnastics title
Oklahoma senior Faith Torrez has claimed the NCAA gymnastics all-around title on Thursday in her season debut across all four events following an injury-plagued year.
The 2026 championship victory in Fort Worth, Texas, saw the collegiate athlete defy the odds with a stunning total score of 39.7875.
Torrez defeated a stacked field of Olympic and world champions to secure the highest individual honour in American collegiate gymnastics.
Miraculous recovery stuns gymnastics world
Prior to the dramatic semi-final, the Sooners star was not considered a front-runner for the coveted crown.
She had been restricted to the uneven bars and balance beam since February and had not competed in all four disciplines at any point this season.
“If you would have told me probably two and a half weeks ago that I would be in this position right now doing four events, like living out my dream right now, I’d probably laugh at you.”
“I had no intentions of doing this at the beginning of the season, middle of the season, but to be here and have everything kind of just play out as it did was really amazing.”
Oklahoma advance as rivals falter
Head coach K.J. Kindler revealed her star pupil only requested to resume floor training following the SEC championships in late March.
Remarkably, the newly-crowned champion had not completed a full floor routine until earlier this week.
Kindler praised her athlete’s incredible air awareness and physical resolve after such a prolonged absence from full-intensity competition.
The historic individual victory helped propel the defending champion Sooners into Saturday’s national team final.
LSU and Florida progress to national final
LSU gymnast Kailin Chio, who held the top national ranking for the majority of the campaign, finished as the overall runner-up.
Florida standout eMjae Frazier secured third place as the Gators comfortably won the afternoon session.
LSU were forced to battle until the final rotation to edge out a resurgent Georgia side to keep their title hopes alive.
Meanwhile, highly-fancied UCLA struggled following an uncharacteristic fall from Olympic gold medallist Jordan Chiles on the bars.
