Feb. 17, 2016
By Miranda Kulp, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Nittany Lions will be hitting the road again as Penn State men's gymnastics will be sending three student-athletes to compete in the 2016 Winter Cups in Las Vegas over the weekend.
Representing the Blue and White will be senior Trevor Howard, redshirt-junior Leroy Clarke, Jr. and freshman Michael Burns.
"It's great to always have players in the mix," said head coach Randy Jepson. "It's also a good measuring stick to see where as a coach you are with your guys and trying to pinpoint anything we need to work on still."
The Winter Cup is a two-day competition with some of the best gymnasts in the country competing. Competitors then need to qualify on the first day to advance to the finals.
For Burns, this is his fourth time entering this competition. Although this is his first year with Penn State
"Michael was one of the prominent juniors out there competing and we were lucky enough he committed to Penn State. Although he's not full strength yet due to an injury he's proving to be a great asset to this team," said Coach Jepson.
Burns, who is a Baltimore, Ohio native has been competing in gymnastics for 14 years.
"I started doing gymnastics when I was really young," said Burns. "I would always be at the gym my sister was dancing at, so one day my mom signed me up for a class and I fell in love with the sport."
"I tried out a bunch of sports growing up but never got the same rush of excitement as I did with gymnastics," continued Burns.
Since becoming a Lion, Burns has been a solid competitor for Penn State on the high bars this season. Scoring a career-high of 15.000 while competing at West Point Open.
In addition to the high bars, Burns has competed on pommel horse, still rings, and parallel bars for the Blue and White so far this season.
"Due to a recent injury Michael still isn't at full strength, but is doing an impressive job for someone recovering," said Jepson. "He's a great athlete and passionate about the sport, so I'm excited to see how he competes this weekend and throughout his time here at Penn State."
Like many gymnasts, Burns has taken his love for the sport at a young age and created a lifestyle out of it. Although he's just a freshman, Burns is realizing how rewarding being a student-athlete can be.
"Being a part of this team has made my transition into college a million times easier," said Burns.
"It's great to have this support system and guys to show me the ropes of college. When I came here I didn't know anything so I'm really thankful for all the upperclassman have taught me both inside and outside the gym," continued Burns.
Balancing both athletic and academic demands, Burns is currently an agricultural major.
"Once I started competing more regularly, I had to learn a very strict work ethic," he said. "Gymnastics demands a lot of time but I never wanted to let my grades slip so I had to learn time management pretty quickly."
"Although gymnastics is a lot of work, it's also a lot of fun," said Burns. "I've met some of my best friends through this sport. There's not a lot of people in the United States who compete in gymnastics at a highly-competitive rate so we all have a mutual respect for each other."
Burns will be leaving Happy Valley with Clarke Jr. and Howard to start competing on Thursday, Feb. 18 at 4.p.m. in hopes of making it to the event finals on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 9 p.m.