UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s gymnastics team posted 11 season-highs in the Covelli Center on Sunday afternoon, but No. 5 Ohio State held on to win, 325.000-323.850. Penn State fell to 3-1 (1-1 Big Ten) on the season, while handing the Buckeyes improved to 4-1 (1-0 Big Ten). Penn State’s team score marked the best of the season by more than four points.
“23 out of 24 hits made for a great effort,” said head coach Randy Jepson. “It was our best score of the year, but of course we would have preferred a win. I think that we have more we can accomplish in terms of sticks and small things on our routines to get to where we know we can be. Karnes’s horse keeps getting better and better and he was really good today. He has been strong on parallel bars all season, but his high bar was terrific. It was just beautiful release work. It made for a great routine to watch.”
Ohio State posted three of the top four scores on floor to jump out to an early lead despite graduate student Matt Cormier and sophomore Akseli Karsikas posting season-high routines. Cormier clocked a 13.350 and Karsikas tied for second on the event with a 13.800, including a sick on his last pass.
Penn State grabbed three of the top four scores on pommel horse, including senior Josh Karnes’s first event title of the day with a season-high 13.800 routine. Graduate student Ethan Dick followed closely with a 13.700, and sophomore Landon Simpson placed fourth on the apparatus with a 13.450, his top score of the year.
Ohio State grew its lead on the rings, winning the rotation 54.550-53.600. Karsikas and junior Ian Raubal posted season highs on the event, including Raubal’s 13.800 which marked the second highest rings score of the day.
Cormier and Simpson each posted season-highs on vault with both student-athletes eclipsing the 14.000 mark. The duo helped Penn State to a 55.850-55.750 team event win.
Ohio State had the top three parallel bar scores with just only Karnes left on the apparatus. The senior took his moment, securing a season-best 14.350 routine to take the event title and bring the deficit to a single point heading into the last rotation.
Karnes closed out the day with another event title, posting a season-high 13.900, but he couldn’t quite turn the tide for the Nittany Lions, leading to a narrow 1.150 difference in the final score.
UP NEXT
Penn State gets a week off before junior Matt Underhill heads to Louisville, Kentucky to compete at the 2025 Winter Cup on Friday, February 21. The Winter Cup will culminate in the selection of the Men’s Senior National Team to be named following the competition.