Garrett Braunton Wins High Bar in Collegiate Debut

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – Air Force freshman Garrett Braunton collected a score of 13.950 to win the high bar in his collegiate debut this evening (Jan. 16), as the 13th-ranked men's gymnastics team kicked off the 2021 season with a runner-up finish at the Rocky Mountain Open, which was held at the Academy's Cadet West Gym for the 41st-straight year.

Braunton, who registered the 11th-best event total in Academy history during his first meet, became the third Falcon in the last five years to win the Rocky Mountain Open's high bar title – joining Lukas Texeira (2019) and Chase Cannon (2017). The freshman, who placed third in the all-around with a tally of 78.200, was the Falcons' top finisher on the floor exercise and still rings after accounting for matching scores of 13.200 to finish sixth on both events.

Senior Allen Shadan also claimed a podium finish this evening, as he posted a career-best score of 13.750 to finish third on the parallel bars and lead the Falcons to four of the top-eight finishes on that event. Freshman Oliver Zavel garnered a score of 13.650 to finish fourth in the meet and debut in 19th on the program's standings on that event, while seniors Ethan Esval and Frankie Valentin placed seventh (13.550) and eighth (career-best 13.250), respectively.

In addition to leading the Falcons on the parallel bars, Shadan accounted for top-10 finishes on the still rings (seventh, 13.150) and high bar (10th, career-best 12.350). Zavel also tied for eighth on the high bar during his collegiate debut (12.650), while Esval added a seventh-place score of 13.050 on the pommel horse and Valentin, who claimed the Falcons' top finish on the vault (ninth, 13.950), added a top-10 finish on the floor exercise (seventh, 12.850).

Junior Noah Everett rounded out the list of top finishers for Air Force, as he scored a 13.150 to finish sixth on the pommel horse, while freshman Dylan West and senior Scott McMurray also accounted for top-10 marks on the night. West posted a score of 13.050 to place eighth in his collegiate debut on the still rings, while McMurray opened his final season with a 10th-place score of 12.850 on the pommel horse.

Oklahoma combined for a score of 414.450 to win its 21st Rocky Mountain Open title in 22 years, while the Falcons finished second (384.100) and Arizona State placed third (371.550).

The Sooners will host the Falcons in a rematch next Saturday (Jan 23) in Norman.

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