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Career Honors & Awards
- Junior National Team Member
- NCAA Team Finals Competitor (2026: Rings, High Bar)
- NCAA Team Qualifiers Competitor (2026: Rings, High Bar)
- Big Ten Freshman of the Week (3/17/26)
- Big Ten All-Freshman Team Member (2026)
- CGA Rookie of the Week (3/18/26)
- Canadian Nationals Champion (2025: High Bar, Still Rings; 2024: All-Around, Floor, High Bar)
- 2023 Elite Canada Pommel Horse Champion
Academic Awards
- Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2025)
- Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2026)
Career & Season Highs
|
|
FX |
PH |
SR |
V |
PB |
HB |
AA |
|
Career Best |
13.45 |
-- |
13.85 |
-- |
12.10 |
12.70 |
-- |
|
2026 |
13.45 |
-- |
13.85 |
-- |
12.10 |
12.70 |
-- |
2026 (Freshman)
Rakita competed in multiple meets for Nebraska during his debut season. His first meet as a Husker was at the Rocky Mountain Open, where he got a 12.65 on floor and an 11.40 on rings. At the meet against Ohio State, he competed on floor for a 12.75, rings for a 12.70, parallel bars for a 12.10, and high bar for a 12.70. He competed in the Oklahoma meet on floor and received a 13.45, which is his career-high. He scored a 13.35 on floor and a 13.25 on rings during the meet against Simpson and Greenville. The rest of the regular season, he only competed on rings. He got his career-high on rings during the meet against Illinois, where he got a 13.85. He qualified to Big Ten Event Finals and received a score of 13.50 for fourth place. His finish at Big Ten Championships made him a Big Ten All-Freshman Team Member. He competed on rings and high bar during the NCAA Qualifiers and NCAA Finals. In qualifiers, he had a 13.666 on rings and a 12.133 on high bar. In finals, he had a 13.533 on rings (13th place) and a 12.60 on high bar. He was awarded CGA Rookie of the Week and Big Ten Freshman of the Week once during the season. Outside of the gym, he made the Nebraska Scholar Athlete Honor Roll in the Fall of 2025, and he majors in Nutrition and Health Sciences.
Before Nebraska
Sam Rakita competed at the East York Gymnastics Club in Ontario, Canada, under Coach Slava Sytnik where he was the 2023 Canada Winter Games Champion with Team Ontario. Rakita was a Junior National Team Member, a 2024 National All-Around Champion, floor champion and high bar champion. He was also the 2023 Elite Canada pommel horse champion.
Rakita completed a year at York University in Toronto, Ontario where he studied kinesiology and health science.
Personal
Sam is the son of Eugene Rakita and Jeanne Lifshits and has two sisters, Michelle and Rebecca Lifshits. He plans to continue his major in nutrition and health sciences.