NORMAN – The Oklahoma men's gymnastics team won three major annual awards presented by the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, the conference office announced Thursday: sophomore Ignacio Yockers was named Specialist of the Year, Nico Hamilton was named Freshman of the Year and head coach Mark Williams was named Coach of the Year.
Yockers was also the 2023 MPSF Specialist of the Year and has earned the specialist award in each of the first two years of its existence, while Hamilton is the first OU gymnast to be named MPSF Freshman of the Year. This is Williams' 15th MPSF Coach of the Year honor in his 25 seasons as OU head coach, and his first since 2018.
Yockers has competed in all nine meets for Oklahoma this season and has won eight event titles (seven on pommel horse and one on parallel bars). He ranks third nationally on pommel horse (four-score average of 14.950). He has scored 15+ on pommel horse twice this season (tied for most nationally) and 14.700 or better on horse six times (most nationally). His 15.450 pommel score on Feb. 10 stands as the highest score recorded nationally in any event this season.
The Tulsa, Okla., product added parallel bars to his repertoire this season, competing in the event six times with a four-score average of 13.650. He notched a career-high 13.900 on March 9 against Navy, winning the event title, and has scored 13.500 or better on p-bars five times. Yockers was named CGA national Specialist of the Week on Feb. 14 and MPSF Specialist of the Week four times this season (Jan. 23, Feb. 6, Feb. 13 and March 12).
Hamilton has competed in seven meets this season for Oklahoma and ranks sixth nationally on floor exercise (14.083). He is the only freshman ranked among the national top-10 on floor exercise. He was named CGA national Rookie of the Week on March 6 and MPSF Freshman of the Week twice (March 5 and March 12).
The Grapevine, Texas, product posted a nearly perfect 9.5 execution score on his 14.800 floor exercise routine at Michigan and has scored 14 or better in three of his six floor routines. Despite not competing in OU's first two meets of the season, Hamilton debuted on parallel bars Jan. 28 at Illinois, scoring a 13.800 in his first collegiate routine, then topped the performance with a 13.850 against Navy on March 9.
Williams has led the Sooners to a No. 2 national ranking and a 414.533 four-score average through the regular season. Oklahoma has registered six team scores of 410.000 or better and three of 415.000 or better this season. OU is one of only two programs nationally to score 415-plus three times this season, and the Sooners' 420.350 set at the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 20 remains the third-highest team score recorded this season. OU gymnasts collected 18 of the 31 weekly conference awards this season.
The No. 2-ranked Sooners welcome No. 1 Stanford, No. 8 California and No. 10 Air Force to McCasland Field House for the 2024 MPSF Men's Gymnastics Championship on Saturday, April 6. The meet is set for a 2 p.m. start. A subscription-based live stream will be available via Overnght. Tickets are priced at just $10 for adults and $5 for youth and seniors, and can be purchased at SoonerSports.com. Current students at participating schools receive free admission.
For updates and more information on Oklahoma men's gymnastics, follow the Sooners on Twitter and Instagram (@OU_MGymnastics) and like Oklahoma Men's Gymnastics on Facebook.