COLUMBUS, Ohio – Penn State men's gymnastics will send seven individuals to the NCAA Championship Finals after placing fourth as a team in Friday's qualifying round at the Covelli Center.
Michael Artlip (AA), Luke Esparo (V, SR), Kacper Garnczarek (HB, PB, FX) Michael Jaroh (HB), Josh Karnes (AA) Landon Simpson (V) and Matt Underhill (SR) all will move on to Saturday's third session.
"Rule No. 1: Don't beat yourself," said head coach Randy Jepson. "And we did."
Penn State finished with a team score of 405.423, just barely missing the top-three of Friday's evening session to move on to the team finals. Oklahoma took first with a score of 418.957, followed by 2024 Big Ten Champions Michigan with a 418.954 and Ohio State with a 408.725.
As a team, the Nittany Lions earned a season high score of 66.965 on pommel horse despite having no individuals make it to the finals in the event.
The Nittany Lions had two individuals finish in the top-three of the all-around. Karnes took first with a season high score of 83.531. Artlip placed third with an 80.297.
Freshmen Esparo and Simpson will both compete in their first NCAA finals after posting qualifying scores for vault. Esparo notched a 14.433 and Simpson earned a 14.500.
Esparo also qualified for rings with a 13.733. Underhill will join his teammate on the event after collecting a 13.700.
Garnczarek had a successful night after qualifying for all three of the events he competed in. The sophomore claimed a score of 13.833 on parallel bars, a 13.633 on floor and a 13.266 on high bar.
Jaroh, we won the high bar title at the Big Ten Championships nearly two weeks ago, moved on to the event's finals with a score of 13.900.
Last year at the championships, four Nittany Lions were named All-Americans. Karnes, Jaroh and Underhill all earned the honor.
Seven gymnasts will compete in the NCAA Finals Saturday, April 20 at 6 p.m.
