Penn State Men’s Gymnastics Wins Big Ten Championship
Penn State men’s gymnastics wrapped up its fourth team Big Ten title in program history on Friday night with a team score of 410.350.
Penn State jumped out to an early lead thanks to a strong performance on the vault in the first rotation of the tournament. Sophomore Parker Clayton and junior Sam Zakutney earned scores of 14.300, while senior Wyatt Tindall posted a season-high 14.200 as the Nittany Lions jumped out to a lead with a total score of 70.550 after one rotation.
Head coach Randy Jepson’s team took a slim 1.4-point lead over Ohio State after two events. Tyndall earned a season-high score of 14.650 on the parallel bars, while Zakutney helped the team’s cause with a 14.500. Penn State finished the event with a nice total score of 69.650 in part thanks to senior Michael Burns’ 14.050.
Zakutney and Burns paced the Nittany Lions on the high bar with scores of 13.700, and Favian Valdes also chipped in with a 13.200 in this event to help his team maintain its lead through three events. The junior from Ottawa, Canada posted an impressive 14.150 in the floor routine, and sophomore Brennan Pantazis finished second among Penn Staters with a 14.050. The Nittany Lions led with a score of 272.450 after four rotations.
Penn State wrapped up the title with impressive performances on the pommel horse and rings. Junior Stephen Nedoroscik impressed with a 14.950 on the horse, but the Nittany Lions still needed a huge performance on the rings in order to wrap up the conference title.
The team’s ring specialists stepped up with excellent performances to wrap up the championship. Junior Brayden Borromeo scored a solid 14.100 effort before redshirt senior Greg Tamargo and Clayton posted scores of 12.950 and 14.050, respectively. Fellow redshirt senior Noah Roberson and junior Isaac Hammett wrapped up the title with 14.300 and 14.350 performances, respectively.
#WeAre Big Ten Champions!
— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) April 6, 2019
Congrats to @PennStateMGYM on winning the Big Ten Tournament Title!pic.twitter.com/l5dHzecqSk
The Nittany Lions’ team score of 410.350 at the competition was their best of the season. They’ll head off to nationals, which are slated for April 19 and 20 at the State Farm Center in Champaign, IL, and try to break a tie with Oklahoma for the most national titles in NCAA men’s gymnastics history.
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