CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Penn State men’s gymnastics finished fourth overall in Friday night’s 2026 NC Championship Regional, just missing the cutoff to advance to Saturday’s national championship. The Nittany Lions never wavered from their position after the first rotation, showing a consistent push from the Blue & White. Despite the missing the team qualifier, PSU sends five individuals to compete on 16 different routines for the chance at NCAA medals.
Kellen Ryan and Landon Simpson earned bids on all apparatuses for their top three finishes in the All-Around, while Akseli Karsikas earned a spot in the finals for still rings and the high bar. Ritam Malik and Shaun Smith will both compete in a single apparatus in the championships, competing on still rings and vault, respectively.
“We had a solid night until the end,” said head coach Randy Jepson. “We had a couple misses on the last rotation, but the guys fought valiantly. We knew it was going to be an uphill road with only six routines returning from last season’s NCAAs plus half out lineup out due to injury and illness. I was proud of the way the guys pulled together. They were focused, but we just didn’t have enough tonight. Hats off to the other competitors. We look forward to going tomorrow with the individual qualifiers we have.”
Penn State began the meet on floor, where Brayden Erickson put up a 13.366 to lead the Nittany Lions, good for 12th place overall. Simpson followed in 13th with a score of 13.333.
Simpson was the PSU leader on pommel, scoring a 13.266 on the apparatus for a 12th-place finish.
Karsikas put up the first top 10 score for PSU in the meet, posting a 13.266 on rings, finishing ninth overall.
Simpson led the charge on vault with an eighth-place finish on vault, tallying a 13.900, while Ryan followed in ninth place with a 13.866.
Karsikas was the top Penn Stater on the parallel bars but finished in just 17th place with a score of 13.133.
Ryan was the Nittany Lions’ top finisher on high bar, where the graduate student scored a 13.066, good for 12th place.
UP NEXT
Penn State’s five student athlete qualifiers are back in action tomorrow evening in the State Farm Center to chase medals. Action begins at 7 p.m. ET and will be televised live on ESPN2 with specific apparatus channels on ESPN+.