I've often touted Event Finals at JO Nationals as being the perfect showcase for America's best junior club gymnasts. In fact, I've also clamored for this event to be televised by ESPN, much like their annual Little League World Series coverage. It's a production crew's dream. Historically, it has been eighteen gymnasts (Levels 9 & 10) on six events, America's best juniors being introduced one at a time and taking the podium alone. The whole event takes 90-120 minutes. America's perfect showcase has been kicked [...more]
In Sunday's finale of the Michigan/Sam Mikulak show, it was more Michigan and more Sam. The Wolverines piled up a total of eleven more All-American performances, including five from Sam. Oh yeah, he took home two more national title trophies on PB (15.50) and HB (16.10). His teammates got into the act, too. Adrian de los Angeles, who has to be one tired gymnast, claimed another All-American honor on PB. Syque Caesar capped off [...more]
They simply ran into a buzzsaw this weekend. Oklahoma (440.10), that is. Their gutsy performance at the 2013 NCAA Championships fell short, as Michigan put together two straight days of consistently outstanding gymnastics. Nearly matching their Friday night score of 443.85, the Wolverines (443.20) overwhelmed the field of six at the meet hosted by Penn State. Their opening salvo came on their first event, pommel horse (72.25), where they posted a meet high and sent an ominous sign [...more]
Michigan hit for an astounding 75-plus on three events to easily post the highest team score (443.85) in the Qualifier for Saturday's night's finals of the 2013 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships. Host Penn State (436.90) and Stanford (435.85) had the next two highest scores, as they placed 1-2 in the second session. Oklahoma (433.85), the nation's 2nd-ranked team, easily qualified with their 2nd place finish in the early session. Defending champs Illinois (426.90) benefited from Minnesota's (424.70) pommel horse meltdown [...more]
Regional scores have been posted. I have listed the all-around winners (optional routines) for each division, and if you click on the individual regions listed in bold above the gymnasts names, you can view all the scores. Qualifiers will compete at next month's JO Nationals in Portland, OR. [...more]
In the penultimate weekend of college men's gymnastics competition, Michigan, Oklahoma and Temple captured their respective conference team titles. Penn State, Oklahoma and Michigan were ranked 1-2-3, and there is no question that these teams will be the favorites going into the NCAA Championships (April 19-21). The pre-season rankings had Illinois at the top, followed by Michigan, Oklahoma and Penn State. Since opening weekend, Penn State has had a virtual stranglehold on the [...more]
