STANFORD, Calif. – Hosting the Bay Area Bandits for an exhibition meet on Saturday afternoon from Burnham Pavilion, No. 1 Stanford posted a 249.450 three-score team total to finish ahead of the visitors at 218.950.
Due to limited lineups, the two squads counted only the top three scores in each event.
While the scores will not count toward the official NCAA statistics, Stanford gymnasts did manage several strong showings in the exhibition.
Mark Berlaga and Kaien J-Spencer each scored a 13.750 on floor, with the event serving as J-Spencer's first collegiate routine in front of judges. Berlaga's career-best in the event is a 12.950.
Khoi Young led all competitors with a 14.450 on pommel horse – besting his season high of 13.650 in the event.
A staple of Stanford's rings lineup, Berlaga scored a 14.400 in the event to finish with the top score on Saturday. Brandon Briones and Nicolas Kuebler followed with 14.300 and 14.250, respectively.
After missing last week's competition in Oklahoma, Zach Martin returned on Saturday to post a 14.400 on vault.
J.R. Chou scored just off his career best on parallel bars (14.750), registering a 14.700 to top all competitors. Junior Brandon Nguyen did manage to hit his career best in the event, posting a 13.850.
Finishing the exhibition on horizontal bar, Kuebler and Chou both scored 13.750 to share top honors. The score bested Kuebler's career high of 13.650, while it topped Chou's season best of 13.650.
A handful of Cardinal gymnasts will now prepare to compete at the Winter Cup next week with U.S. National Team spots on the line from Louisville, Ky. Stanford-affiliated gymnasts slated to compete include current Cardinal Jeremy Bischoff, Taylor Burkhart, Ian Gunther, Asher Hong, Ian Lasic-Ellis, Riley Loos and Khoi Young. Former Cardinal Curran Phillips and Blake Sun are also registered alongside incoming Cardinal David Shamah.
Brody Malone has already reclaimed his spot on the Senior National Team after winning the gold medal on horizontal bar at the World Championships.
Stanford will return to team action on March 4 when it hosts California and Illinois for Senior Day at 4 p.m.