Men's Gymnasts of the Week – Jan. 12-13, 2024

Gymnast of the Week awards are given by conference offices and the College Gymnastics Association. More will be added throughout the week as they become available.

Gymnast of the Week
Asher Hong – Stanford
See below for accomplishments

Rookie of the Week
Jaden Blank – Army

Specialist of the Week
Caden Spencer – Ohio State
See below for accomplishments

Gymnast of the Week
Caden Spencer – Ohio State

• Won both the parallel bars and high bar, as No. 6 Ohio State topped No. 9 Greenville
• Posted a career-best 14.250 in the parallel bars and fell just shy of a career mark in the high bar (14.350)
• Recorded the nation’s second highest score in the parallel bars and fourth highest on the high bar
• Garners his second career Gymnast of the Week award

Specialist of the Week
Javier Alonso – Michigan

• Scored a career-best 15.10 on the still rings at Saturday’s Windy City Invitational
• Posted the highest single event score in any event at the meet
• Recorded the top still rings score in the country this season
• Earns his first Event Specialist of the Week award

Freshman of the Week
Garrett Schooley – Illinois

• Finished second in the all-around at Saturday’s Windy City Invitational
• Placed third in the floor exercise and earned a top-10 spot in the pommel horse
• Earns his first Freshman of the Week award

Gymnast of the Week
Syam Buradagunta – Navy
Suiting up in Friday’s team competition at the West Point Open, Buradagunta finished top-three on the floor exercise (1st with 14.25 points), pommel horse (2nd with 14.2 points) and high bar (3rd with 13.4 points). In Saturday night’s event finals, he won the floor exercise final with a 13.8 score, 0.55 points ahead of second place. Additionally, he grabbed silver with a 12.9 on the pommel horse and bronze on the high bar with a 12.8 effort.

Specialist of the Week
Franco Peirano – Army
Senior Franco Peirano won the vault title at the West Point Open with a score of 13.2, making him the third Black Knight to be crowned champion on the event in the competition’s history and the first since 2006.

Rookie of the Week
Peyton Cramer – Springfield
Cramer became just the second Springfield College men’s gymnastics student-athlete to win an individual title at the West Point Open as he took first on the pommel horse in his collegiate debut. After producing a 14.7 on the opening night, the first year delivered a 13.900 in the finals to take first.

Gymnast of the Week
Asher Hong – Stanford
Stanford sophomore Asher Hong (Tomball, TX) claimed the all-around and three event titles in the season opener at California (Jan. 13) to help the Cardinal to the nation’s top early season total of 413.800. Hong posted the best all-around score in the nation after two weeks (84.850), while recording a top-two national score on floor (14.400), still rings (14.600), and parallel bars (14.450). He had a fourth mark of over 14 on vault (14.150). This is the seventh career MPSF weekly award for Hong.

Specialist of the Week
Emre Dodanli – Oklahoma
Oklahoma junior Emre Dodanli (Milton, Ontario, Canada) won all three events in which he competed, scoring higher than 14 on each, to lead a winning 413.600 team total vs. Air Force in the season opener (Jan. 13). He posted the highest score of the meet with his 14.750 on floor, then followed with a 14.700 on vault and a 14.050 on the high bar. Dodanli’s total of 43.500 helped the Sooners post the second-highest score nationally so far this season. This is the second career
MPSF weekly award for Dodanli.

Freshman of the Week
Carter Kim – California
California freshman Carter Kim (Frisco, TX) led the Bears on vault and finished second on the team on floor in his collegiate debut in the season-opening home meet vs. No. 1 Stanford (Jan. 13). Kim posted a 14 on vault, 13.450 on floor, and stuck his landing on high bar (12.750). This is the first career MPSF award for Kim.