How Ignacio Yockers became a budding star for OU men's gymnastics team
NORMAN — Ignacio Yockers was a tough kid to contain.
The Tulsa native was four years old when his parents tried to find him a babysitter. They needed someone to watch Yockers while they were at work, and Yockers' aunt volunteered to help.
She didn't know what she was getting herself into, though.
"I can't control him," Yockers' aunt told his parents one day. "You need to enroll him in something."
Yockers was constantly running and rolling around, so his aunt suggested gymnastics.
And that's how it all started. Now a freshman in college, Yockers is a budding star on the OU men's gymnastics team.
He's ranked second nationally on pommel horse and is a key contributor for the Sooners, who begin their NCAA Championships run at 6 p.m. Friday with a qualifying meet in University Park, Pennsylvania.
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It'll be the biggest stage yet for Yockers, who has come a long way from tormenting family babysitters.
"Obviously, there's stress," Yockers said. "But we're at OU. We do the hardest workouts. We do the most, so I'm just going there (knowing) I've done more routines and better routines than all the other guys. ... I just need to go in there and do my routine."
Yockers didn't fall in love with gymnastics right away.
He enjoyed the freedom of being able to run and jump around at first. But once he began to take the sport more seriously at around the age of seven, he realized how difficult it was.
"This is terrible," Yockers remembers telling himself. "They want me to work two hours a day, two times a week? That's so much."
That practice schedule is laughable now for Yockers. He claims he practices for about 20 to 30 hours per week with OU.
The intense workouts were a wakeup call for the true freshman, who admits he threw up on his first day of practice with the Sooners.
"It was definitely hard," Yockers said. "The hours I train here are higher intensity. ... It's like I'm doing a sprint every day in practice."
But Yockers has adjusted well to the college level.
He has become OU's top athlete for the pommel horse, mostly because he has dedicated all of his time to the event.
Yockers has been dealing with a nagging shoulder injury this season. And in an effort to prevent further injury, he's only competing in pommel horse as opposed to all six events.
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"Now it's gotten to the point where I can go into the competition and compete with no warmup turns and just go," Yockers said. "But it's definitely putting extra wear on my wrists and elbows from supporting myself so much.
"Some of the motions still hurt my shoulder. It's not really getting better or resting. We're just making sure it doesn't get worse right now."
But Yockers plans to tough it out and compete in the NCAA Championships, much to the Sooners' relief.
No. 2-ranked OU will need all the contributions it can get as it begins its postseason run on Friday. It'll compete in a session that consists of No. 3 Michigan, No. 6 Penn State, No. 7 Ohio State, No. 10 California and No. 11 Springfield.
The top three teams will then advance from each of the two qualifying sessions to the finals.
OU (17-2, 4-1 Big 12) is seeking its 13th NCAA team championship and its first title since 2018. Stanford has won the past three championships and enters this postseason as the No. 1-ranked team.
"(Stanford) looks to be the favorite," OU head coach Mark Williams said. "We obviously want to fight to the end, give them a run and see if we can take away their streak of national championships. ... We're just going to give it our best shot."
OU will surely lean on fifth-year seniors Vitaliy Guimaraes and Spencer Goodell.
Guimaraes is a nominee for College Gymnastics Association (CGA) Gymnast of the Year, while Goodell is a finalist for the Nissan-Emery Award. The award is given annually to the nation's top senior gymnast.
The two redshirt seniors have a wealth of postseason experience. And while that's something Yockers lacks, he doesn't lack confidence.
"It's definitely reassuring knowing there are so many people around me that have done this before," Yockers said. You just do what's on the board and put up the numbers. ... You just go out there and do your job."
NCAA men's gymnastics championships
WHEN: 6 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Rec Hall in University Park, Pa.
STREAMING: NCAA.com
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU men's gymnastics: Freshman Ignacio Yockers is a budding star
