University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Wiskus and Moran Advance to Winter Cup Final
2/20/2020 11:53:00 PM | Men's Gymnastics
Junior captain Shane Wiskus and sophomore Mike Moran took their talents to the desert for the USA Gymnastics Winter Cup Challenge in Las Vegas and both had solid showings on the first day of competition.
Wiskus was able to finish second all-around in a very deep talent pool, only behind two-time Olympian Sam Mikulak. His score of 84.550 is just .050 off from his collegiate career high, and he logged the most top 4 finishes of any competitor, on five events. He took first on vault (14.450), third on rings (14.350) and fourth on parallel bars (14.500), high bar (13.650) and floor (14.200).
As a top six finisher, Wiskus automatically retained his spot on the U.S. Senior National Team and moved on to the finals session of the meet.
Moran, a first-timer at the Winter Cup, scored 77.950 for 26th place to also make the cut for the finals. He finished in the top 15 on vault (14.100, 12th) and managed to crack the top 10 on floor with a score of 13.950 for seventh place.
The finals session of the Winter Cup Challenge is set to begin at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22. USA Gymnastics will live stream the session on its YouTube channel and will also provide live stats. Fans can also follow along through the Minnesota Men's Gymnastics Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages.
Shane Wiskus
The Gophers duo started on rings, where Wiskus put up a score of 14.350, which ties his collegiate career best and earned him third place. He then moved over to vault, where he scored 14.450, a season high and good for first place. Shane was the 2019 USA Gymnastics vault champion. Wiskus concluded the first half of competition on parallel bars, the event in which he's the reigning NCAA champion. He scored 14.500 for fourth place, and also tallied 13.650 on high bar to tie for fourth. He scored 14.200 on floor for another fourth place finish and closed out the meet on pommel horse with a 13.400 (12th).
Mike Moran
Moran had a slower beginning to his day and scored a 12.250 on rings, but turned up the heat in rotation two on vault, where he earned a 14.100 to tie his season high and place 12th. He posted matching scores of 12.450 on both parallel bars and high bar in the third and fourth rotations. Moran had his best showing of the night on floor, in which he is currently ranked No. 9 in the NCAA. He earned a mark of 13.950, which was good for seventh place and all but secured him a spot in day two. Moran closed the day on pommel horse with a score of 12.750.