COLUMBUS, Ohio- Sophomore Josh Karnes clinches individual event title on parallel bars to secure a gold medal. Karnes also earned fourth on floor and was joined by Matt Cormier and Chase Clingman who earned silver medals.
"Another really spirited effort from our guys tonight," said head coach Randy Jepson. "It was really great to see a Championship out of Josh Karnes on parallel bars. I am really proud of the guys over both days."
Karnes' 14.550 on parallel bars in the first night of the competition sent Penn State to a second-place team finish on Friday and qualified him for individual event finals on Saturday. He closed out Penn State's performances for the night with a 14.350, his seventh consecutive parallel bars score above 14.000. The Senior National Team member also competed on floor exercise in the final and scored a 14.300 to land him in fourth place.
Junior captain Cormier competed on floor and medaled silver with his score of 14.450 and stick bonus. He also routined on high bar to finish with a 13.800 and vault to earn a 13.275.
Senior Chase Clingman medaled on pommel horse taking second place on the event with his score of 14.150.
Ian Raubal had three outings on the night. He first made an appearance on rings to finish with a 13.425 and stick bonus. Then, he scored a 13.900 on high bar and finished the night on parallel bars with a 13.125.
Three Nittany Lions made a single appearance in the event finals. Matt Underhill competed in the rings finals and scored a 13.600, Ethan Dick scored a 14.050 on parallel bars to finish fourth and Michael Artlip also competed on parallel bars and finished with a 12.875.
Karnes and Cormier earn first team All-Big Ten with their performances and Clingman landed on second team All-Big Ten. Cormier also garnered Penn State's Sportsmanship Award.
"This gives us great momentum going into NCAA Championships in two weeks and I think the guys have seen what it takes to compete over two days," said Jepson.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions will host and compete in the NCAA Championships on Friday, April 14 for the team and all-around finals and Saturday, April 15 for the individual event finals. Sessions for the first day of competition will be determined in the coming days.
