Feb. 27, 2009
SURREY, B.C. - Penn State senior Casey Sandy (Brampton, Ont.) added another accomplishment to his impressive gymnastics resume by capturing the all-around title at the Elite Canada 2009 late Thursday night. His winning performance secures him a spot on the Canadian National Team. The two-day event was held at the Guildford Recreation Centre in Surrey, British Columbia.
Sandy, the NCAA's No. 1-ranked all-arounder, never relinquished his grip on first place throughout the competition, scoring 87.150 on day one and 88.150 on day two. He also won the still rings (14.450/14.500) and the high bar (14.850/14.150) and placed second in the floor exercise (14.300/14.750), pommel horse (14.450/15.100), and vault (15.900/15.900).
"It was tough," said Sandy, the 2008 Big Ten and NCAA All-Around champion. "I did O.K., on some events and others should have been better. Even though I didn't score the highest I felt the pommel horse was the highlight for me. The floor went alright but there are a few things I could clean up."
A past member of the Canadian National Team, Sandy placed third in the individual all-around at the Canadian Nationals in 2004 and fourth in the all-around at the Canadian Nationals in 2005. Competing for his native country, he was also a finalist in the all-around at the 2007 World Championships, placing 25th overall.
Sandy's standout performance at the Elite Canada 2009 further accents what has been a brilliant competitive year for him. The seven-time All-American broke a conference record by earning his eighth Big Ten Gymnast of the Week award following winning a single-meet career high five events and the all-around versus Minnesota. He garnered national attention for his achievement by being recognized in Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd on Feb. 23.
Sandy's numerous accomplishments have also gained him attention outside of the gymnastics world, as he was selected as the 2008 Ken Giles Award winner, an honor presented annually to the amateur athlete of the year by The Brampton Guardian newspaper in his hometown of Brampton, Ontario, Canada.
After fashioning one of the greatest seasons in the storied history of Penn State men's gymnastics in 2008, Sandy is on the verge of equaling or surpassing it in 2009. A leading candidate for the Nissen-Emery Award, he has captured four or more titles in every dual meet this season, claiming a total of 22 for the season and won Big Ten Gymnast of the Week three times. Sandy currently holds top five positions in the individual national rankings in the high bar (No. 3), pommel horse (No. 4), vault (No. 5), and parallel bars (No. 5).
Sandy will now make the coast-to-coast trek to return to University Park and will likely be available as the Nittany Lions host their first home meet in more than a month versus Big Ten preseason favorite Ohio State on Sat., Feb. 28. First rotation is set to begin at 2 p.m. in Rec Hall.