UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s gymnastics team posted 11 sticks on Saturday evening in Rec Hall to help secure the team’s 321.350-314.450 win over No.2 Stanford. With the win, Penn State improves to 4-1 (1-1 Big Ten), while the Cardinal fell to 8-3.
Penn State won just two of the six event titles, but stronger overall performances by the Nittany Lions aided the team to a nearly seven-point victory.
“The guys have been working hard,” said head coach Randy Jepson. “They prepared well for this meet. The hard work is paying off, but we still need to get healthy. I’m thrilled with the fact that we have gone three meets, and we have only missed four routines. Our consistency is way up, we just need to keep that up. I always tell the guys ‘don’t try to stick, just practice and the sticks will come to you’, and I think you saw that pay off tonight.”
Kaien J-Spencer of Stanford opened the Cardinal floor with a 13.800, a score that would go on to win the event, but a stick by Akseli Karsikas to help power home a 13.700 performance, and a 13.500 by Michael Artlip helped Penn State finish second and third in the event. The Nittany Lions trailed by just 0.150 after the first rotation.
Arun Chhetri ensured the Cardinal’s second title of the meet, posting a 13.750 on pommel horse. The quartet of Ethan Dick, Kacper Garnczarek, Landon Simpson, and Josh Karnes took home places second through fifth on the apparatus, including a tie for second between Karnes and Garnczarek with each tallying a 13.700. Garnzarek’s mark was good for a new season high, and the Nittany Lions jumped out in front with a 16.300-104.050 lead after the second rotation.
Despite Asher Hong’s rings’ grip failing him on his first attempt, the Cardinal won Stanford’s third event title with a 14.400. Matt Underhill led the Nittany Lion scoring with his 14.100 and a stick, followed by Ian Raubal’s season-high score of 13.850. The duo helped lead PSU to another team event win, and gave Penn State a more than three-point edge at the halfway point of the meet.
The Nittany Lions posted their best team score all season on vault with a 56.600. Kellen Ryan, Matt Cormier, and Matt Underhill all stuck the landing to help aid the team win in the event. Cormier’s 14.250 earned him a new season-high, and the vault title.
Stanford appeared to be making some ground after back-to-back 14.050 routines on the parallel bars, but Josh Karnes 14.000 and Kacper Garnczarek’s season-high 13.650 helped keep the Cardinal from doing too much damage.
PSU closed the day with a 2.400-point win on the high bar, thanks to three sticks and a season-best performance by Akseli Karsikas (13.500), alongside Karnes’s 13.600 event title-worthy routine.
For his efforts in the meet, alongside his work on the world stage in Germany last week at the World Cup, Kacper Garnczarek was awarded the Gene Wettstone award, recognizing the most outstanding athlete of the meet.
UP NEXT
Penn State hits the road next weekend to take on Illinois in the last weekend of road conference action. The meet is set for Saturday, March 8 with a start time of 2 p.m. in Huff Hall.