University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, March 23
Maturi Pavilion
2:00 PM
University of Minnesota
vs
Penn State / Iowa
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
Gophers Clinch Share of B1G Title On Senior Day
3/23/2019 5:32:00 PM | Men's Gymnastics
Photo Gallery | Meet Results
The No. 6 Minnesota men's gymnastics team needed a huge performance at Maturi Pavilion to pull off the meet victory on Saturday against No. 5 Penn State and No. 8 Iowa. The Gophers not only delivered season bests on pommel horse and vault and a season-best score of 410.950, but made history and walked away with a share of the first-ever Big Ten Regular Season Championship.
"First [championship] we've had since I've been coaching here, and it's a pretty special day," head coach Mike Burns said. "I couldn't be prouder of these guys. The first half of the meet was decent, and the last half they just exploded with some amazing performances."
The Gophers came into the meet with a 2-2 record in conference and had to earn victories over both Penn State and Iowa, but Nebraska also had to win over Michigan for Minnesota's chances at a conference title to remain a reality. All of the chips happened to fall the Gophers' way and the team had its best outing of the regular season in the last meet.
Minnesota will share the first-ever regular season crown with the Michigan Wolverines and Iowa Hawkeyes, who were also able to celebrate under the same roof.
The victory was especially sweet for the Gopher seniors, George Khoury, Ben Winkel, Michael Harris, Shaun Herzog, Vitali Kan, Justin Karstadt and redshirt Ryan Wangler, who were all honored Saturday and competed at the Pav for the very last time.
"We got to send off our seniors in style," Burns said. "I'm really happy for those guys because it's a memory that they'll have for the rest of their lives."
The Gophers finished the day with 12 podium finishes and event titles on four of six events. Freshman David Pochinka had the best meet of his young career that saw him claim his first-ever event title on parallel bars with a career-high 14.500. He also set career highs on high bar (13.700) and pommel horse (13.750) to tie for second and place third, respectively. Fellow freshmen Ben Eyles and Mike Moran also had career days. After being part of last week's Minnesota-led vault podium, Eyles and Moran again delivered with new high scores of 14.750 and 14.700 to take the hold and silver on the event.
Sophomore Shane Wiskus earned the floor title with a score of 14.200 and also took the all-around crown with a mark of 83.400. He continued his streak of success on both bar sets by claiming second on both parallel bars (14.350) and high bar (13.700).
Senior Justin Karstadt brought home an event title on Senior Day on pommel horse, with a score of 14.100. He also came in second on rings with a score of 14.300. Senior captain Vitali Kan rounded out Minnesota's podium finishes on the day with a bronze on the floor exercise (14.100).
Floor
The Gophers started the day on floor and earned a 67.750. Three of the event's top finishers were from Minnesota, with Wiskus leading the way with a 14.200 for the title. Kan was just behind with a score of 14.100 for the bronze, and freshman Garrett Kasiski just missed the podium with a mark of 13.900 to tie his career best.
Pommel Horse
Minnesota moved over to pommel horse and ended up having its best outing on the event of the season. The Gophers tallied a final score of 68.000, which was the best of the meet and easily topped their previous high of 66.900. Karstadt, ranked No. 11, maintained his dominance on the event and scored a 14.100, his second-best mark of the year, for the gold. Pochinka set a career high with a score of 13.750 and came in third, while Wiskus earned a 13.650 for fifth.
Rings
Karstadt kept up the momentum as the team went to rings and scored a 14.300, a new season high, for second place. Sophomore Colton Dee was Minnesota's next best finisher in eighth place with a score of 13.350. The Gophers earned a 66.750 total on rings.
Vault
Minnesota was in third place after three rotations, but added some cushion to its lead with a 72.750 vault rotation, best on the day and best for the Gophers this year. The team was again led by freshmen on the event, with Moran and Eyles coming up huge in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. Moran delivered a stuck 14.700 and Eyles followed up with a 14.750 to take second and first place, respectively. Both scores were career highs for the rookies. Minnesota also claimed fifth through seventh place (Kan, Wiskus, Kasiski) and the team's lowest score was a 14.350.
Parallel Bars
Pochinka continued his career day on the parallel bars, where he stuck his set for a 14.500 and the event title. Wiskus was just behind with a 14.350 for second place. Karstadt was Minnesota's next best finisher with a 13.850 for sixth place. The Gophers finished parallel bars with a score of 69.350, best of the meet.
High Bar
Pochinka and Wiskus didn't slow down when heading to the high bar. Pochinka earned a 13.700 with a stick for a new career high and second place. Wiskus also earned a 13.700 to split the silver with Pochinka and round out Minnesota's event podium finishes on the day. Karstadt and junior captain Timmy Kutyla claimed fifth and sixth place with scores of 13.500 and 13.250, respectively. The Gophers earned a 66.350 on high bar, their second-best mark of the season.
The Road Ahead
The meet marked the end of the regular season for Minnesota, and the Gophers have the Big Ten Championships next up. The competition will be hosted by Iowa and is slated for April 5-6.
The No. 6 Minnesota men's gymnastics team needed a huge performance at Maturi Pavilion to pull off the meet victory on Saturday against No. 5 Penn State and No. 8 Iowa. The Gophers not only delivered season bests on pommel horse and vault and a season-best score of 410.950, but made history and walked away with a share of the first-ever Big Ten Regular Season Championship.
"First [championship] we've had since I've been coaching here, and it's a pretty special day," head coach Mike Burns said. "I couldn't be prouder of these guys. The first half of the meet was decent, and the last half they just exploded with some amazing performances."
The Gophers came into the meet with a 2-2 record in conference and had to earn victories over both Penn State and Iowa, but Nebraska also had to win over Michigan for Minnesota's chances at a conference title to remain a reality. All of the chips happened to fall the Gophers' way and the team had its best outing of the regular season in the last meet.
Minnesota will share the first-ever regular season crown with the Michigan Wolverines and Iowa Hawkeyes, who were also able to celebrate under the same roof.
The victory was especially sweet for the Gopher seniors, George Khoury, Ben Winkel, Michael Harris, Shaun Herzog, Vitali Kan, Justin Karstadt and redshirt Ryan Wangler, who were all honored Saturday and competed at the Pav for the very last time.
"We got to send off our seniors in style," Burns said. "I'm really happy for those guys because it's a memory that they'll have for the rest of their lives."
The Gophers finished the day with 12 podium finishes and event titles on four of six events. Freshman David Pochinka had the best meet of his young career that saw him claim his first-ever event title on parallel bars with a career-high 14.500. He also set career highs on high bar (13.700) and pommel horse (13.750) to tie for second and place third, respectively. Fellow freshmen Ben Eyles and Mike Moran also had career days. After being part of last week's Minnesota-led vault podium, Eyles and Moran again delivered with new high scores of 14.750 and 14.700 to take the hold and silver on the event.
Sophomore Shane Wiskus earned the floor title with a score of 14.200 and also took the all-around crown with a mark of 83.400. He continued his streak of success on both bar sets by claiming second on both parallel bars (14.350) and high bar (13.700).
Senior Justin Karstadt brought home an event title on Senior Day on pommel horse, with a score of 14.100. He also came in second on rings with a score of 14.300. Senior captain Vitali Kan rounded out Minnesota's podium finishes on the day with a bronze on the floor exercise (14.100).
Floor
The Gophers started the day on floor and earned a 67.750. Three of the event's top finishers were from Minnesota, with Wiskus leading the way with a 14.200 for the title. Kan was just behind with a score of 14.100 for the bronze, and freshman Garrett Kasiski just missed the podium with a mark of 13.900 to tie his career best.
Pommel Horse
Minnesota moved over to pommel horse and ended up having its best outing on the event of the season. The Gophers tallied a final score of 68.000, which was the best of the meet and easily topped their previous high of 66.900. Karstadt, ranked No. 11, maintained his dominance on the event and scored a 14.100, his second-best mark of the year, for the gold. Pochinka set a career high with a score of 13.750 and came in third, while Wiskus earned a 13.650 for fifth.
Rings
Karstadt kept up the momentum as the team went to rings and scored a 14.300, a new season high, for second place. Sophomore Colton Dee was Minnesota's next best finisher in eighth place with a score of 13.350. The Gophers earned a 66.750 total on rings.
Vault
Minnesota was in third place after three rotations, but added some cushion to its lead with a 72.750 vault rotation, best on the day and best for the Gophers this year. The team was again led by freshmen on the event, with Moran and Eyles coming up huge in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. Moran delivered a stuck 14.700 and Eyles followed up with a 14.750 to take second and first place, respectively. Both scores were career highs for the rookies. Minnesota also claimed fifth through seventh place (Kan, Wiskus, Kasiski) and the team's lowest score was a 14.350.
Parallel Bars
Pochinka continued his career day on the parallel bars, where he stuck his set for a 14.500 and the event title. Wiskus was just behind with a 14.350 for second place. Karstadt was Minnesota's next best finisher with a 13.850 for sixth place. The Gophers finished parallel bars with a score of 69.350, best of the meet.
High Bar
Pochinka and Wiskus didn't slow down when heading to the high bar. Pochinka earned a 13.700 with a stick for a new career high and second place. Wiskus also earned a 13.700 to split the silver with Pochinka and round out Minnesota's event podium finishes on the day. Karstadt and junior captain Timmy Kutyla claimed fifth and sixth place with scores of 13.500 and 13.250, respectively. The Gophers earned a 66.350 on high bar, their second-best mark of the season.
The Road Ahead
The meet marked the end of the regular season for Minnesota, and the Gophers have the Big Ten Championships next up. The competition will be hosted by Iowa and is slated for April 5-6.
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