WEST POINT, N.Y. – Penn State closed with a strong performance on vault to secure its eighth-consecutive West Point Open title Friday night at Army's Christl Arena. The Nittany Lions won with a score of 393.650, holding off runner-up Navy and its score of 391.450.
Rounding out the team scores at the event were Army (388.650), Springfield (378.550), William & Mary (362.400) and Temple (337.050).
"One of the things we've always tried to do is compete with grit and we didn't until the last event. But we pulled through to get our eighth-straight title," Penn State head coach Randy Jepson said. "We have to be much tougher and more fierce. We gave away a lot of points today. Even with a depleted lineup we expect to compete with more grit. We're fortunate that our guys pulled it together at the end and were tough on those last five vaults."
Sophomore Matt Cormier led the Lions during the team competition, posting the top score on floor (14.0) and high bar (13.7). He added a third-place showing on vault with a 14.4 and posted the third-best all-around score at 77.2.
Sophomore Ethan Dick gave the Lions a third top score on the first night. He was first with a score of 13.95 on pommel horse, second with a 13.55 on parallel bars, and tied for eighth with a 13.0 on high bar.
Senior Kaleb Booth put together a strong effort in his season debut, recording the second-best scores of the night in a pair of events. He tallied 13.85 on floor and posted a score of 14.45 on vault.
Also making his season debut was sophomore Colin Wingrove. His score of 14.4 on vault was the third-best of the night, while his 13.55 on rings was fourth best.
Freshman Derek Schlagenhauf joined fellow freshman Josh Karnes in making their collegiate debuts on Friday. Schlagenhauf had the third-best score of the night on pommel horse with a 13.5.
Senior Nick Mock was in the top eight in two events, finishing the first day in fifth on pommel horse (13.2) and tied for eighth on parallel bars (13.5).
Penn State has won 23 of the 30 of the 30 West Point Opens in which it competed.
The Lions opened the season with a win over Army West Point at Rec Hall last weekend. Their team score on Friday was a 24.6 point improvement over that meet.
PENN STATE FINALISTS (FOR SATURDAY)
Floor
Kaleb Booth
Matt Cormier
Pommel Horse
Nick Mock
Derek Schlagenhauf
Ethan Dick
Rings
Colin Wingrove
Vault
Matt Cormier
Colin Wingrove
Kaleb Booth
Parallel Bars
Nick Mock
Michael Artlip
Ethan Dick
High Bar
Ethan Dick
Matt Cormier
