CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Penn State men's gymnast Michael Jaroh won the 2024 Big Ten high bar title with a career high score of 14.325 in Champaign, Ill. Saturday evening.
The senior was the lone victor for the Nittany Lions in the individual event finals. This is the first Big Ten title for the Northville, Mich. native. He is the first Penn State gymnast to win the title since Trevor Howard in 2016 and just the fourth Nittany Lion to be dubbed a Big Ten high bar champion.
Jaroh also competed on parallel bars where he scored a 13.375.
"It's really great to see our guys bounce back today with some great performances," said head coach Randy Jepson. "It was great to see Michael Jaroh pull through. He did an outstanding job on high bar. He hasn't been in the high bar all year, so it's just great to see him step up to the plate and knockout a Big Ten Championship."
Jaroh joins Josh Karnes and Michael Artlip on collecting first team All-Big Ten honors after finishing in the top-six in the all-around Friday evening.
Artlip, Karnes and Matt Underhill finished in the top-six in their respective events.
"Michael Artlip was outstanding today," said Jepson. "He had a terrific floor and did a great job on vault."
Artlip took third on floor with a career high score of 14.225. The senior tied for sixth on vault with a 14.375.
Karnes finished fourth on floor with a score of 14.125. The Erie, Pa. native also competed on parallel bars where he finished sixth (13.850).
Underhill claimed sixth on rings with a solid 13.775. The sophomore competed on vault where he received a 13.800.
Akseli Karsikas and Kacper Garnczarek also competed Saturday evening. Karsikas put up a solid performance in his first Big Ten event finals, earning a 13.475 on high bar. Garnczarek claimed a score of 13.525 on parallel bars.
"Now we are getting some momentum into the NCAA's," said Jepson. "Hopefully we can carry that right through to the Championship."
Penn State will compete at the NCAA Championships April 19-20 in Columbus, Ohio.
