No. 4 Ohio State Earns Big Win at No. 7 Illinois on Saturday

Saturday, March 7

Champaign, Ill.

1 p.m.

Ohio State

316.200

313.900

No. 7 Illinois

Photo by: Illinois Athletics

No. 4 Ohio State Earns Big Win at No. 7 Illinois on Saturday

3/7/2026 3:35:00 PM | Men's Gymnastics

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The Buckeyes had the higher team score on all but one event and earned three individual event titles.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 4 Ohio State men's gymnastics team (8-3, 2-0 B1G) beat No. 7 Illinois (2-6-1, 0-3 B1G) by a 316.200-313.900 margin in Champaign on Saturday.

Jesse Pakele earned a career-high 14.100 on rings, sticking his dismount to capture the event title. David Ramirez tied for the highest score on vault (14.100). Pakele earned his second event title of the meet on parallel bars with a score of 13.250.

On floor, the Buckeyes finished in second (Pakele, 13.650, stuck final pass) and third (Noah Copeland, 13.350). Ohio State also had two on the podium on pommel horse – Kristian Grahovski as the runner-up (13.500) and Parker Thackston in third (13.150). Ramirez tied for second on parallel bars (13.050). On high bar, Jacob Harmon and Copeland each earned a 13.650 to tie for second, with Copeland's score being his career-high.

How it Happened

Floor (52.500): Jacob Harmon (13.150), Copeland (season-high 13.350, third), Chase Davenport-Mills (12.350), Pakele (13.650, stuck final pass, second)
Pommel horse (52.450): Grahovski (13.500), Jace Hashimoto (13.050), Conlan Simpkins (13.750), Thackston (13.150)
Rings (season-high 53.400): Grahovski (13.150), Drake Andrews (13.050), Ramirez (13.100), Pakele (career-high 14.100, first)
Vault (55.200): Grahovski (13.350), Ramirez (14.100, tied first), Davenport-Mills (13.900), Zach Snyder (13.850)
Parallel bars (49.750): Andrews (12.750), Tyler Burgess (10.700), Pakele (13.250, first) Ramirez (13.050, tied second)
High bar (52.900): Harmon (13.450, tied second), Copeland (career-high 13.650, tied second), Grahovski (12.350), Andrews (13.250)

What He Said

Head coach Rustam Sharipov: "It wasn't a perfect meet, but the guys did enough to get the win today. Now our main focus shifts to our next home meet against That Team Up North on Monday, March 16."

Up Next
The Buckeyes host No. 5 Michigan on Monday, March 16 for a 6 p.m. dual meet. The meet will be broadcast live on BTN.

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