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Karstadt, Kan Named Nissen-Emery Finalists
3/4/2019 7:53:00 PM | Men's Gymnastics
Seniors Justin Karstadt and Vitali Kan have been selected as finalists for the 2019 Nissen-Emery Award, the College Gymnastics Association announced Monday. The Nissen-Emery Award is the highest honor in men's college gymnastics, and has been presented annually to that year's outstanding senior gymnast since 1966.
Kan and Karstadt are two of eight finalists for the award. Five of eight come from the Big Ten, and Minnesota is the only school to have more than one finalist.
"The Nissen-Emery Award is the ultimate when it comes to excellence in our sport," head coach Mike Burns said. "Any year we can get a finalist in the list of top seniors in the nation it's a great year, but to get two, honestly, I'm humbled at the fact that the Gophers were able to get two."
In addition to outstanding achievements in competition, each nominee must "be an example of good sportsmanship and fair play...a champion in defeat as well as in victory," and "must maintain a high standard of scholarship throughout his college career."
"Justin and Vitali were the obvious choices in 2019," Burns said. "With impressive resumes both gymnastically and academically, that was a great start, but the thing that sets these two apart is their stellar sense of responsibility and accountability in so many aspects of their lives."
Justin Karstadt
Karstadt, who hails from Toronto, Ont., is a two-time First Team All-Big Ten honoree (2016, 2017), a three-time All-American (pommel horse: 2016, 2018, parallel bars: 2018), and was the Big Ten Co-Gymnast of the Year as a sophomore in 2017. He finished in eighth place on pommel horse at the 2016 NCAA Championships as a freshman and took fifth all-around at the Big Ten Championships the same year. As a sophomore, Karstadt took second on pommel horse, seventh on parallel bars and fifth all-around at the 2017 Big Ten Championships. He also recorded the current best all-around score in program history with an 87.050 according to the 2017-2020 Code of Points. Karstadt took fifth on pommel horse and third on parallel bars en route to Minnesota's record finish at the NCAA Championships in his 2018 junior season. Through seven competitions in his senior year, Karstadt has earned three event titles (rings and pommel horse) and seven podium finishes.
Karstadt is a frequent competitor with his national Team Canada, and was the pommel horse champion, all-around runner-up and vault bronze medalist at the 2016 Canadian National Championships. He is also the reigning national champion on parallel bars. Internationally, Karstadt represented Canada at the 2016 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships and took eighth place all-around while the team came in third. He traveled with Team Canada to the 2017 World University Games, where the team came in eighth. Most recently, Karstadt competed at the 2018 World Challenge Cup in Mersin, Turkey and came in third place on pommel horse.
Justin was the 2016 Minnesota Rookie of the Year and was named the team's Most Valuable Gymnast as a sophomore. Karstadt has also excelled in the classroom. He currently holds a 3.78 cumulative GPA and has been named a CGA First Team All-American Scholar Athlete in each of his full years at Minnesota. Karstadt has also twice been named to the Academic All-Big Ten (2017, 2018), was a CoSIDA Third Team Academic All-American and was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and Google Cloud Academic All-District honoree in 2018. Justin is majoring in kinesiology.
Vitali Kan
A West Allis, Wis., native, Kan is one of three captains for the Gophers this year. He is a two-time All-American on vault and his seventh place finish in 2018 helped lead Minnesota to its national runner-up finish, the best in program history. He placed eighth on vault at the 2017 Big Ten Championships as a sophomore and took eighth on floor and fourth on pommel horse at the event in 2018 as a junior. So far in his senior season, Kan has earned four event titles (floor, horse and vault) and 10 podium finishes.
Kan competed in the 2017 World University Games representing Team USA, and took seventh place.
Vitali has received team awards in each of his seasons at Minnesota including Rookie of the Year, the Outstanding Accomplishment Award, and the Spirit of Gopher Gymnastics Award. Kan, a statistics major, is a two-time First Team CGA All-American Scholar Athlete (2017, 2018) and has twice been named Academic All-Big Ten (2017, 2018). In his time at Minnesota, Kan has earned a 3.47 cumulative GPA.
Four Gophers have won the award in program history, with Ellis Mannon being the most recent in 2015.
Kan and Karstadt are two of eight finalists for the award. Five of eight come from the Big Ten, and Minnesota is the only school to have more than one finalist.
"The Nissen-Emery Award is the ultimate when it comes to excellence in our sport," head coach Mike Burns said. "Any year we can get a finalist in the list of top seniors in the nation it's a great year, but to get two, honestly, I'm humbled at the fact that the Gophers were able to get two."
In addition to outstanding achievements in competition, each nominee must "be an example of good sportsmanship and fair play...a champion in defeat as well as in victory," and "must maintain a high standard of scholarship throughout his college career."
"Justin and Vitali were the obvious choices in 2019," Burns said. "With impressive resumes both gymnastically and academically, that was a great start, but the thing that sets these two apart is their stellar sense of responsibility and accountability in so many aspects of their lives."
Justin Karstadt
Karstadt, who hails from Toronto, Ont., is a two-time First Team All-Big Ten honoree (2016, 2017), a three-time All-American (pommel horse: 2016, 2018, parallel bars: 2018), and was the Big Ten Co-Gymnast of the Year as a sophomore in 2017. He finished in eighth place on pommel horse at the 2016 NCAA Championships as a freshman and took fifth all-around at the Big Ten Championships the same year. As a sophomore, Karstadt took second on pommel horse, seventh on parallel bars and fifth all-around at the 2017 Big Ten Championships. He also recorded the current best all-around score in program history with an 87.050 according to the 2017-2020 Code of Points. Karstadt took fifth on pommel horse and third on parallel bars en route to Minnesota's record finish at the NCAA Championships in his 2018 junior season. Through seven competitions in his senior year, Karstadt has earned three event titles (rings and pommel horse) and seven podium finishes.
Karstadt is a frequent competitor with his national Team Canada, and was the pommel horse champion, all-around runner-up and vault bronze medalist at the 2016 Canadian National Championships. He is also the reigning national champion on parallel bars. Internationally, Karstadt represented Canada at the 2016 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships and took eighth place all-around while the team came in third. He traveled with Team Canada to the 2017 World University Games, where the team came in eighth. Most recently, Karstadt competed at the 2018 World Challenge Cup in Mersin, Turkey and came in third place on pommel horse.
Justin was the 2016 Minnesota Rookie of the Year and was named the team's Most Valuable Gymnast as a sophomore. Karstadt has also excelled in the classroom. He currently holds a 3.78 cumulative GPA and has been named a CGA First Team All-American Scholar Athlete in each of his full years at Minnesota. Karstadt has also twice been named to the Academic All-Big Ten (2017, 2018), was a CoSIDA Third Team Academic All-American and was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and Google Cloud Academic All-District honoree in 2018. Justin is majoring in kinesiology.
Vitali Kan
A West Allis, Wis., native, Kan is one of three captains for the Gophers this year. He is a two-time All-American on vault and his seventh place finish in 2018 helped lead Minnesota to its national runner-up finish, the best in program history. He placed eighth on vault at the 2017 Big Ten Championships as a sophomore and took eighth on floor and fourth on pommel horse at the event in 2018 as a junior. So far in his senior season, Kan has earned four event titles (floor, horse and vault) and 10 podium finishes.
Kan competed in the 2017 World University Games representing Team USA, and took seventh place.
Vitali has received team awards in each of his seasons at Minnesota including Rookie of the Year, the Outstanding Accomplishment Award, and the Spirit of Gopher Gymnastics Award. Kan, a statistics major, is a two-time First Team CGA All-American Scholar Athlete (2017, 2018) and has twice been named Academic All-Big Ten (2017, 2018). In his time at Minnesota, Kan has earned a 3.47 cumulative GPA.
Four Gophers have won the award in program history, with Ellis Mannon being the most recent in 2015.
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