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Craig Houtz

Men's Gymnastics Tops Springfield on Senior Day

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State won all six individual events on its way to a 395.300-378.700 victory over Springfield in a non-conference men's gymnastics meet Saturday at Rec Hall.
 
The Nittany Lions improved to 11-3 on the season while honoring their five seniors with a win on Senior Day. Kaleb Booth, Eric Lung, Nick Mock, Andres Perez Gines, and Brady Yamamoto were recognized following their final regular season home meet in Happy Valley.
 
Michael Jaroh posted a pair of individual event wins for Penn State, taking first on pommel horse and parallel bars. He scored 13.5 on pommel horse and was followed by teammates Ethan Dick, Nick Mock, and Chase Clingman in second through fourth. Jaroh scored 13.75 on parallel bars and was followed by teammate Andres Perez Gines in second.
 
Michael Artlip was the recipient of the Gene Wettstone Award as the MVP of the meet. He won high bar with a personal-best score of 13.95. Perez Gines scored 13.7 to finish as the runner-up in the event, while Nate Warren was third with a personal-best score of 13.3. It was a strong close to the meet for the Lions with a season-best score of 65.500 in the event.
 
Artlip added a pair of runner-up finishes, taking second with a personal-best score of 13.6 on floor and second on vault with a 14.3.
 
Matt Cormier had the best routine of the meet with a personal-best 14.7 on vault. That is the best score on vault by a Penn State gymnast this season. Booth followed Artlip in the standings with a third-place finish.
 
Artlip was second to Robbie Shamp on floor. Shamp picked up the event win with a score of 13.85. Booth was third.
 
Josh Reinstein stepped up big for Penn State, posting his first career event win with a personal-best score of 13.5 on rings. He put an exclamation point on the routine with a stick. The Lions took the top four spots on rings with Warren, Shamp and Dick taking second through fourth.
 
"Michael Artlip did an outstanding job," Penn State head coach Randy Jepson said. "He was terrific on all three events that he did. Andres Perez and Kaleb Booth were also very solid."
 
Penn State has just one regular season meet left, a trip to Michigan on Saturday, March 19, before it hosts the Big Ten Championships at Rec Hall on April 1-2.
 
"We had some bright spots and we had some low spots. We were trying to give a great effort for our seniors," Jepson said. "I think this was a great opportunity for some guys to step up. Some guys did and others didn't. We're down to the end here, so we really have to have everyone put things together at the right time. I'm excited knowing we got some guys some rest as we head into Michigan and then the Big Ten Championships."