Air Force Set to Host MPSF Championships
4/5/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Meet Notes 09: Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships 
The 11th-ranked Air Force men's gymnastics team remains at the Academy this weekend, when its hosts the 2018 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships. The 26th-annual conference meet, which includes two of the top-four teams in the nation, will be held at the Cadet West Gym and is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. (MT).
MEET INFORMATION
The 2018 MPSF Championships will feature Air Force, California, Oklahoma and Stanford. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for youth/military. The meet will be streamed on the MPSF site through its subscription service, while live stats are scheduled to be available via RoadToNationals.com. Air Force will begin the meet on the vault, while the rest of the starting rotation will include Oklahoma on the floor exercise, Stanford on the pommel horse and California on the still rings.
A LOOK AT THE FIELD
Top-ranked Oklahoma, the three-time defending NCAA champion and winner of the last six conference titles, currently leads the nation with a four-score average of 414.933 – an mark that is more than four points higher than the No. 2 team. Stanford is ranked fourth with a 408.583 average, while Air Force and California are ranked 11th (397.983) and 12th (395.817), respectively. Individually, Oklahoma gymnasts hold the nation's top National Qualifying Average on three events, with Genki Suzuki holding the top average on the high bar (14.500) and Yul Moldauer leading the NCAA on the still rings (14.650) and parallel bars (14.933).
HISTORY 101
Oklahoma has claimed six straight MPSF titles – and 16 of the last 19 – as Stanford (2009, 2011) and California (2004) are the only schools to interrupt the Sooners' run. The Falcons, who have finished fourth in every conference meet since the current field was formed in 2012, have recorded two individual titles (2016 – Arinn Wade, pommel horse; 2017 – Timmy Wang, pommel horse).
AIR FORCE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
With a four-score average of 397.983, the Falcons are ranked 11th in the national standings. Air Force is listed among the nation's top 10 on the pommel horse (eighth, 66.350), still rings (ninth, 67.467), vault (ninth, 69.900) and parallel bars (65.850). Individually, Lukas Texeira is ranked sixth on the high bar with a national qualifying average of 14.067, while Fletcher Braunton is tied for 10th on the still rings (14.083).
WHAT'S AHEAD FOR THE FALCONS
The 2018 season comes to a close at the NCAA Men's Gymnastics National Championships in Chicago, Ill., on April 20-21. A list of qualifiers and the initial schedule for the opening day will be announced by the NCAA next week.
Players Mentioned
