Falcons take fifth place at Rocky Mountain Open

Highlighted by a fifth-place finish at the Still Rings (a career-high 13.750), Garrett Braunton was the Falcons’ top finisher in four of six events. The sophomore earned an additional top-10 placement on vault (14.050, tied eighth) and represented the team’s best scores on high bar (12.300, tied 18th) and floor exercise (12.150, 23rd).
Braunton was one of two Falcons to place in the top half of the field on vault, as a rookie Eric Upton tied for 15th with a start of 13.900. First-year student patrick hoops tallied a team-leading 13.500 to place 10th on pommel horse in his college debut as a senior Noah Everett finished in the top half of the field (tie 15th) behind a score of 13.500. Everett and Upton also rounded out the Falcons’ list of event leaders, with the pair tied for 19th on parallel bars with corresponding scores of 12.850.
With a score of 407.700, NCAA preseason No. 3 Oklahoma won its 22nd RMO title in the past 23 years, as it edged preseason favorite Stanford by just .200. dots (407,500). Nebraska, ranked fourth in the NCAA’s preseason poll, finished just 3.350 points with a score of 404.350. Arizona State, the highest-ranked team in the GymACT (club) preseason standings, combined for a 375.900 to place fourth, while NCAA No. 10 Air Force (323.250) and GymACT No. 7 Rocky Mountain Pride ( 241,450) completed the team ranking.
The Air Force returns to action next Saturday (January 22), when it heads to Norman for a rematch with Oklahoma.