NORMAN, Okla. – Penn State men's gymnastics had nine qualify for the event finals of the National Collegiate Championships with their performances in the first session on Friday at Oklahoma's Lloyd Noble Center. Sophomore Michael Jaroh highlighted the day for the Lions, posting the top all-around score of the session.
Jaroh will compete in the all-around final Saturday at 7 p.m. (ET). Joining him will be eight of his teammates who are set for a combined 12 routines in the individual event finals – Matt Cormier (floor, rings, vault, high bar), Robbie Shamp (floor), Chase Clingman (pommel horse), Nate Warren (rings), Michael Artlip (vault), Josh Karnes (parallel bars, high bar), Ethan Dick (parallel bars), and Andres Perez Gines (high bar).
Jaroh advanced to the all-around final with a score of 80.966, which ranks as the second-best all-around score of his career. He was top 10 in three events, finishing seventh on parallel bars (14.133), eighth on pommel horse (13.533), and eighth on rings (13.900). He scored 12.300 on floor, 14.200 on vault, and 12.900 on high bar. Illinois' Hamish Carter had the second-best all-around score of 80.797.
Cormier was strong in four events on Friday, advancing with scores of 13.800 on floor, 13.366 on rings, 14.266 on vault, and 13.566 on high bar. Karnes also advanced to the finals in multiple events, doing so with a score of 13.533 on parallel bars and 13.500 on high bar. Karnes just missed going to the finals in all three events in which he competed. He lost a tiebreaker to Clingman for the final spot on pommel horse.
Clingman kept his All-America hopes alive by earning that last spot with a score of 13.066. The junior won the Big Ten pommel horse title two weeks ago at Rec Hall.
Penn State will have multiple gymnasts on each event in the finals. Warren advanced with a score of 13.466 on rings, Artlip posted a score of 14.166 on vault, Dick scored 13.733 on parallel bars, and Perez Gines earned a score of 13.400 on high bar.
The top three teams in the first session advanced to the team competition finals on Saturday. Stanford ran away with the top spot with a score of 426.325. The Cardinal will be joined by Nebraska (411.388) and Illinois (406.691) and the three top teams from the second session.
Rounding out the team standings were Penn State (397.889), California (394.824), and Springfield (380.523).
