University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Gymnastics Hall of Fame Induction
1/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
MINNEAPOLIS - The 2016 Minnesota Gymnastics Hall of Fame banquet will be held tonight at the Courtyard by Marriot located at 1500 Washington Ave. South in Minneapolis. Those to be inducted into the Hall of Fame include the 1995 University of Minnesota Men's Big Ten Championship team, Laura Johnson, Jack Campbell (Abby Szott Courage Award) and Kevin Brown (Lifetime Service Award).
The event will begin with a social hour at 6:00 p.m. followed by dinner which is to be served at 7:00 p.m.
The 1995 men's Big Ten Championship team included Brandon Aguirre, George Beatty, Ryan Carns, Billy Copenhagen, Chris Harrington, Robert Hubbard, Jeff Johnson, Frank Ticknor, Colby Van Cleave, Heath Wall, Andrew Weaver and Brian Yee.
The Maroon and Gold tallied a total of 229.825 points to earn the conference crown and Yee, a senior at the time, won the Big Ten Vault Championship title, the Big Ten Medal of Honor and in January of 1995, was named the All-Time Big Ten Gymnast of the Month.
The same year, then head coach Fred Roethlisberger, was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year. Roethlisberger is tied with Charles Pond of Illinois for collecting the most Big Ten titles with 11 total.
During their collegiate careers at Minnesota, Yee, Van Cleave and Weaver were all named to the All-Big Ten First Team.
"The 1995 team is a great choice for the Minnesota Gymnastics Hall of Fame Class of 2016," said men's gymnastics head coach Mike Burns. "Twenty-one years ago, this group of guys put their names in the record books with an amazing performance in Champaign, Ill. by knocking off the defending Big Ten Champs Ohio State by a mere 0.275 points. The margin of victory was so small and these guys never gave up throughout the entire competition. When the dust settles in a meet like this it brings back the ever popular adage that "every tenth counts." It certainly did that night."
As of 2015, the University of Minnesota men's gymnastics team has collected 21 team championships, 103 total individual championships (including all-around), 77 individual event championships and 26 all-around championships.
"It will be a real pleasure to rub elbows with seven of the gymnasts who will be on hand to re-live their finest accomplishment," said Burns. "As life goes on, these kinds of memories of great moments can sometimes be overshadowed by the daily rigors of life. Tonight, we will re-toast the champions of the Big Ten and let them celebrate again the greatness they achieved."
As representative for the University of Minnesota women's gymnastics team, this year's inductee is decorated alum, Laura Johnson. Johnson, a native of Albuquerque, N.M. and collegiate member of the Maroon and Gold from 2002 to 2006, helped lead Minnesota to three top four finishes at the Big Ten Championships and in 2006, the Gophers won the conference crown with a final tally of 195.150.
The same year, Johnson was Big Ten Co-Champion on vault after scoring a 9.800, earned the Big Ten Medal of Honor, collected four All-Time Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honors as well as the Big Ten Gymnast of the Year laurel - the last Gopher to earn the honor before Lindsay Mable collected the title in 2015. From 2004-06, Johnson was named to the All-Big Ten First Team.
As one of the most highly recruited student-athletes out of high school, Johnson didn't waste any time in establishing an impressive career at the University of Minnesota. During her freshman year, she earned All-Big Ten as well as team MVP honors. She continued her success into her sophomore year earning All-Big Ten honors again and claiming the second highest uneven bar and all-around scores in school history at the time with a 39.575 and 9.95, respectively. Johnson was also named the Miriam Award winner for the 2004 season.
During the 2005 season, Johnson was once again team MVP and earned her third All-Big Ten honor in three years. She also earned an individual berth to the NCAA Championships as an all-around competitor.
Johnson graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Journalism and recently passed the bar after graduating from the William Mitchell College of Law.
This year's recipient of the Abby Szott Courage Award is Jack Campbell.
The "Courage Award" is presented every year to someone who has displayed or incorporated their love of gymnastics while encountering or overcoming obstacles in their lives. The Foundation decided to name this award after someone who exemplified this type of courage - a beautiful young gymnast named Abby Szott. She was an accomplished gymnast at TAGS South and Eagan High School before losing her battle with cancer in March of 2006. Her parents, Kaye and David, have since established a foundation in her name to help support parents who have a terminally ill child.
Campbell is a gymnast from Mini Hops Gymnastics and was one of only 3 male athletes from the United States to compete in the 2015 Special Olympics World Games held this past summer in Los Angeles. The World Games brought together over 7000 athletes from 177 different countries, making it the largest sporting event in Los Angeles since the 1984 Summer Olympics.
This year's recipient of the Lifetime Service Award is TAGS Apple Valley Head Coach, Kevin Brown.
Brown has an impressive history as a former club owner of Brown's Gymnastics in Florida and former Olympic Coach (Brandy Johnson '88, Wendy Bruce '92, & Amanda Borden & Jaycie Phelps '96). He has qualified over 30 gymnasts to the USA Junior Olympic National & Elite National teams. Brown has been working with TAGS for over six years and has qualified gymnasts to the USAG Western and Junior Olympic Nationals during his time.
The University of Minnesota men's gymnastics team will host the 48th annual Alumni Meet at the Sports Pavilion tomorrow with action set to begin at 1:00 p.m. Following the Alumni Meet, the University of Minnesota women's gymnastics team will open the 2016 season with a 6:30 p.m. meet vs. Iowa State.
About the Minnesota Gymnastics Foundation
The University of Minnesota Men's and Women's Gymnastics Hall of Fame is sponsored by the Minnesota Gymnastics Foundation. The Foundation has been in existence for 12 years and is a non-profit organization designed to support the gymnastics community in the state of Minnesota. Local gymnastics enthusiasts established this charitable organization, which intends to provide support to local gymnastics, with an emphasis on healthy competition and academic achievement.
The purpose of the Hall of Fame is to honor individuals and teams who have made outstanding contributions to the University of Minnesota's gymnastics teams and to those who have helped develop and promote the sport of gymnastics in the state of Minnesota.
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