Athlete of the Week: Makayla Stambaugh (Gymnastics)

For the fourth consecutive week, Oregon State senior Makayla Stambaugh has been named the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week.

In a conference loaded with top teams (No. 7 Utah, No. 8 UCLA, No. 10 Stanford, No. 18 Arizona) and top gymnasts (seven non-OSU gymnasts in the national top 10 for at least one of the four events), Stambaugh’s feat is remarkable, and makes her an easy choice for The Daily Barometer’s Athlete of the Week — the first OSU athlete to receive the selection more than once.

The senior has led the No. 9 Beavers all year, and her career-high score of 39.600 in the all-around played a large part in OSU setting its team-high score for the year, a 197.275.

It was OSU’s final regular season meet this year. The Beavers finished first in the three-team meet, ahead of Washington and Sacramento State.

Stambaugh still doesn’t think the Beavers have shown their best yet, as championship season begins in 11 days.

“It was a great night and I had a blast with my teammates,” Stambaugh said. “We are working hard in the gym and we are improving. I don’t think it’s our peak performance yet. We are going to keep working on the details.”

Stambaugh took home three individual titles for the fifth week in a row, finishing second in vault (9.925, a career high) and first on floor exercise and uneven bars (both scores of 9.925).

She is the first gymnast in conference history to win Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week four consecutive times, and her all-around score tied for the ninth-best in Oregon State history.

The Beavers host the Pac-12 Championships at Gill Coliseum on March 23. Two years ago, OSU came away with its first-ever conference championship. Last year the Beavers placed third.

Two weeks after that, Stambaugh and the rest of the team’s five seniors will compete in their last meet at Gill Coliseum when they host NCAA Regionals on April 6.

The Daily Barometer
On Twitter @barosports
sports@dailybarometer.com