Lukas Texeira Wins Collegiate High Bar at Rocky Mountain Open

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – With an Academy-record score, senior Lukas Texeira captured the collegiate title on the high bar this evening (Jan. 12), as the 12th-ranked Air Force men's gymnastics team opened the season against some of the nation's elite at the 49th-annual Rocky Mountain Open.

Texeira matched his own program standard of 14.450 to win the collegiate title and finish second overall to two-time Olympian Sam Mikulak of the USOTC. Texeira, who equaled the score he first set at the conference championships in 2017, bettered the rest of the collegiate field by 0.650 points.

Classmate Jonah Urlaub collected a top-five finish in the collegiate standings of the vault, as he registered a score of 14.450 – the sixth-highest total in program history – to finish fifth, while fellow senior Ryan Girouard tied for 10th among collegiate gymnasts on the floor exercise after earning a 13.850 from the judges. Urlaub also paced the team on the still rings (13.150, 16th), while sophomores Scott McMurray and Zach Polen led the team on the pommel horse (13.050, 15th) and parallel bars (13.600, 15th), respectively.

Several other Falcons placed within the top-half of the 40-gymnast collegiate field during their season-opening meet. Sophomore Frankie Valentin finished 16th on the floor exercise, while McMurray, Urlaub and freshman Collin Hickey all tied for 17th behind matching scores of 13.400. Urlaub added a 19th-place mark of 13.450 on the parallel bars, while Valentin earned the same placement on the still rings (13.000).

Top-ranked Oklahoma tallied a 411.250 to win its 19th RMO title in the last 20 years, while seventh-ranked Nebraska scored a 404.350 to edge fourth-ranked Minnesota (403.900) for second. Sixth-ranked Ohio State finished fourth with a 398.500, while No. 14 Arizona State (392.750) and Air Force (384.550) rounded out the team standings.

The Falcons return to action next Saturday (Jan. 19), when they travel to Norman, Okla., for a rematch with the Sooners and Sun Devils at 7:00 p.m. (CT) inside McCasland Field House.

Footer

The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the u.s air force of non-u.s. government sites or the information, products, or services contained therein. Although the u.s. air force may or may not use these sites as additional distribution channels for department of defense information, it does not exercise editorial control over all of the information that you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this website.