UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Throughout his nearly 30-year tenure as head coach of Penn State men's gymnastics, Randy Jepson has only come across "one or maybe two guys that had everything come together at the right time."
Due to a simply spectacular four-year campaign in Happy Valley, two-time national champion Stephen Nedoroscik has launched himself onto Jepson's short list.
"His physical development, his strength, his preparation, his insight into the sport, his inventiveness, his talent level… you name it," Jepson said. "I mean, here's a guy that has a pommel horse in his backyard."
Ironically, Nedoroscik wasn't a highly-touted high school prospect, and made no official visits to any schools throughout his recruitment process.
"I had no doubts about what school I wanted to attend," Nedoroscik said. "From looking back at my success academically and in the gym, I truly know that I made the best decision of my life by coming to Penn State."
"When it came time to sign a scholarship, we didn't make a big offer, but it was something that he liked," Jepson said. "And lo and behold, he comes in his first year and has an outstanding season."
In just his first season, Nedoroscik earned an All-America award to go along with an Academic All-Big Ten honor. At the NCAA Championships, Nedoroscik became one of four freshmen and the 54th Nittany Lion to win a national championship as he finished first on pommel horse.
"That's something that you hope and dream about, but it doesn't ever happen," Jepson said.
When he had first arrived at Penn State, Nedorosick was fresh off of winning multiple Junior Olympic titles on pommel horse. It was these experiences alone, Nedorosick says, that gave him the ultimate confidence in his ability to remain poised and translate that success to the next level.
"When I got here, I just really wanted to win NCAAs and everyone was like, 'you have to keep things realistic,'" Nedoroscik said. "But, I knew that I got this because I was going to work my butt off to be able to do these things."
The following year, Nedoroscik quickly proved his breakout season was not an accident. The Massachusetts native became the first Penn State men's gymnast to win the pommel horse national title in his first two seasons and the third to win it in back-to-back seasons.
The early success didn't alter Nedoroscik's mentality, either. Regardless of any award that came his way, Nedoroscik continued to compete against himself, and he credits Penn State's training facilities for part of his development.
"My difficulty in gymnastics, or start value, increased by about four-tenths each year, which is a huge difference," Nedoroscik said. "Penn State really helped me as a competitor, as someone who was just able to get better and better."
Just when one would think that there was nothing else left for Nedoroscik to achieve, he brought his skillset to the international stage with Team USA in his junior season. Nedoroscik took silver in the U.S. Championships, finished sixth at the Doha World Cup and placed eighth at the Cottbus World Cup in 2019.
Though it was cut short, Nedoroscik's senior year may have been his most eventful.
Nedoroscik, who continued to compete with Team USA, spent his fair share of early mornings and late nights traveling to and from the U.S. and other foreign countries such as Azerbaijan.
"After the World Cup title in Melbourne, I had a meet the next weekend," Nedoroscik said. "The following weekend, we flew from Illinois to Azerbaijan basically straight from the competition."
In February, Nedoroscik posted the best pommel horse score in the nation in well over five years, a 15.9, in Penn State's win over Air Force.
"Stephen was way out in front this year for a third national title," Jepson said. "Unfortunately, that won't be able to happen."
For Nedoroscik, the year was moving ever so quickly. But it was during one of those early mornings in Azerbaijan, however, his busy season came to a sudden halt.
"I found out first thing in the morning at 5 a.m. that the season was cancelled and that we had to leave Azerbaijan and head back to the U.S.," Nedoroscik said. "It was disappointing. A lot of things just happened all at once that I wasn't expecting at all."
In spite of the two national championships, a silver medal, and any other award that he could have won, Nedoroscik says that he is still most grateful for the brotherhood that was built throughout his four years.
"The people on this team… I'll talk to them for the rest of my life," Nedoroscik said. "We are brothers, and with how we've grown together and what we've been through together… It's a family."
Nedoroscik, who plans to remain at Penn State and train while he earns his degree in electrical engineering, has high hopes for the future of the men's gymnastics program.
"I expect that there are going to be some really great things for the future of this team," Nedoroscik said. "With the culture we're leaving behind, I think they're going to be phenomenal, next year especially."
