University of Minnesota Athletics
Beikmann Qualifies for Visa Championships
7/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Kit Beikmann finished third in the pommel horse at the U.S. Qualifier Men's Gymnastics Meet Saturday in Colorado Springs, Colo. He qualified for the Visa Championships by virtue of a points system. It was a long day and night for Beikmann, who had to wait until the very end of the second session of the day to learn his fate.
Beikmann's third-place finish on the horse was one place short of an automatic qualifying bid to the Visa Championsihps. But the 18 points he received by virtue of that finish was enough to allow him to advance. Beikmann scored a 14.65 in his horse routine. But it wasn't until the meet was over that he learned he had moved on.
"Kit had to wait to the very end of the second session to see if he would get to compete in Dallas next month," Gopher head coach Mike Burns said. "The wait paid off."
Burns said Beikmann definitely proved himself as one of the United States' top pommel horse competitors at this meet.
"He had the highest start value of the meet with a 16.5," Burns said. "He is definitely one of the top dogs on horse in this country. He will face even tougher competition at the Visa Championships. But he'll be ready for it."
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