Oklahoma’s Faith Torrez has won the gymnastics’ most prestigious NCAA All-Around national title against multiple top contestants.
In a remarkable milestone, Faith Torrez made history despite not being considered among the front runners for gymnastics’ highest individual honor. She competed on the floor for the first time during an injury-hampered season.
She outcompeted top-ranked Kailin Chio (LSU) and Olympic gold medalist Jordan Chiles (UCLA) and claimed the victory with a total score of 39.7875.
In a post-trophy-ceremony interview, Torrez expressed her joy, “If you would have [told] me probably two and a half weeks ago that I would be in this position right now doing four [events], like living out my dream right now, I’d probably laugh at you.”
“I had no intentions of doing this at the beginning of the season, middle of the season, but to be here and have everything kind of just play out as it did was really amazing. I’m really grateful for that,” she added.
According to Coach K.J. Kindler Torrez started training on the floor after the SEC championships at the end of March. But, she took the start slowly, not even on a routine basis until earlier this week.
“All the credit goes to the athlete in the arena who made that decision and felt comfortable enough and strong enough with her body to do that.” Kindler praised Torrez for her sheer determination.
Torrez narrowly outperformed LSU’s Kailin Chio, who finished as the runner-up with a score of 39.6125, a mark that had led the field following the afternoon session.
Chio entered the competition as the nation’s top-ranked all-arounder for the bulk of the season, while Florida’s eMjae Frazier rounded out the top three finishers.
