ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 26, 2005 - Freshman Santiago Lopez (Cibola del Mar, Mexico) placed second on the vault to earn Penn State's highest finish in the event finals at the Big Ten Men's Gymnastics Championships.

Lopez earned a score a 9.475 to finish as the runner-up to Minnesota's Guillermo Alvarez. Junior Luis Vargas (Rio Pedros, P.R.) finished seventh on the vault for the Nittany Lions with a score of 8.987.

Junior Justin Miklos (Flemington, N.J.) was sixth in the pommel horse with a 9.500 and freshman Derek Helsby (Agoura Hill, Calif.) was seventh with an 8.962.

Senior Ludwig Kern (Annapolis, Md.) placed sixth on the high bar with a score of 9.175. Senior team captain Steve Tobin (Cherry Hill, N.J.) was sixth on the parallel bars with a 9.087.

Sophomore Matt Cohen (Cohoes, N.Y.) placed eighth on the rings with a 9.487 and Vargas was next with a 9.325.

Penn State, the 2004 NCAA Champions, placed fourth in the Big Ten team competition Friday with a score of 220.500. The Nittany Lions return to action April 7-9 at the NCAA Championships at West Point, N.Y.