Match Notes
ANN ARBOR, Mich.; March 24, 2005 ¨C Penn State¡¯s men¡¯s gymnastics team finished fourth Friday night at the Big Ten championships, scoring a 220.500. Ohio State won the championships with a 225.350. Illinois (224.125), last year¡¯s champion, and Michigan (222.775) came in third and fourth, respectively. Six Lion individuals advanced to Saturday¡¯s event finals, which will be held at 7 p.m. at the University of Michigan.
All-arounder Derek Helsby (Orlando, Fla.), a freshman for the Lions, finished seventh in the all-around with a 53.675, and third on the pommel horse with a 9.575 for the Lions. He was the only Lion to finish in the top eight in more than one event. Junior Justin Miklos (Flemington, N.J.) placed second on the pommel horse, scoring a 9.600 for the highest finish of any Lion. Miklos had the highest finish of any Lion on the first night of the championships.
The Big Ten championships continue Saturday when the eight highest individual scores on each apparatus (plus ties) from the team competition will advance to the event finals. In addition to Helsby (pommel horse) and Miklos (pommel horse), team captain Steve Tobin (Cherry Hill, N.J.) will advance to the event finals on the parallel bars, where he tied for fifth with a 9.350. On the vault, Santiago Lopez (Cibola del Mar, Mexico) tied for third (9.425) to advance to the finals. Also advancing on the vault was Luis Vargas (Rio Pedros, P.R.), who tied for fifth with a score of 9.400.
Senior Ludwig Kern (Annapolis, Md.) finished seventh on the high bar, advancing to the finals Saturday with a score of 9.450.
Final Team Standings Team Scores FX PH SR V PB HB Total 1. Ohio State 37.900 36.750 37.475 37.150 37.300 38.775 225.350 2. Illinois 37.550 37.775 38.600 37.150 36.350 36.700 224.125 3. Michigan 37.900 36.525 36.800 37.500 36.775 37.275 222.775 4. Penn State 36.575 37.575 37.775 37.400 35.775 35.400 220.500 5. Iowa 37.050 36.900 37.425 36.900 35.025 36.500 219.800 6. Minnesota 36.375 35.850 36.675 36.825 34.900 35.775 216.400 All-Around Champion: Justin Laury, Michigan (56.200)
