Nov. 27, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Head coach Randy Jepson and his staff have announced the signing of Quest Hayden (Evans,GA) and Colin Coates (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period. The pair will be eligible to join the Penn State men's gymnastics team at the start of the 2014-2015 season.
"Quest and Colin are terrific young men, which is something that we look for when we are recruiting our athletes, and I think they'll fit very well within our family," head coach Randy Jepson said.
At the 2013 Junior Olympics, Hayden placed third on the pommel horse, sixth on the parallel bars and fifth on the all-around. At the 2013 P&G Championship, he finished first on the high bar, seventh on the vault and third on the floor. Hayden is presently competing on the USA Men's Junior National Team.
"Quest is really up and coming and he comes from great gymnastics stock, as his dad and uncle were both premier gymnasts in their days," Jepson said. "Quest has a great foundation, he's very technically sound and we think he's really going to develop during his time with us," Jepson added.
Hayden's Honors:
Five-time state all-around champion
Three-time AA Regional Champion and four-time national qualifier at the P&G Championship
2013 Junior Olympics highlights: Third-place finish on pommel horse and sixth the on parallel bars
2013 P&G Championship highlights: First-place on high bar, third on the floor and all-around, sixth on the pommel horse and seventh on the vault.
Why Penn State: " I chose Penn State because I saw a family here and everyone bonded together very well. Penn State is a prestigious school and I want a chance to be a part of the elite group of Nittany Lion gymnasts."
Coates trains at the Parkettes National Gymnastics Training Center, while also competing on the USA Men's Gymnastics Junior National Team. He is a four-time USA Junior Olympics national qualifier and earned Parkettes MVP honors in 2013, as well as the Austin Zalik Team Spirit Award. At Emmaus High School, he competed on the gymnastics team as an all-around competitor, specializing on the pommel horse.
"It's great to have a Pennsylvanian and a hometown kind of kid from Emmaus," Jepson said. "Colin is coached by a former Penn Stater, Joe Stallone, so it's great to have one of his gymnasts. Colin is also outstanding on the pommel horse, very good in the floor exercise and he will develop in other events as well. We look for him to step in and be a force from the start," Jepson added.
Coates' Honors:
2012-13 Region 7 USA Men's Gymnastics Junior National team MVP
2013-14 Parkettes National Gymnastics Training Center team captain
Four-time USA Junior Olympics National Qualifier
2013 Austin Zalik Team Spirit Award recipient
Why Penn State: "I believe Penn State offered the best environment of all the schools I visited. The successful men's gymnastics team and coaches act as family and Penn State is the nicest campus I have seen. Penn State also has a highly ranked engineering department."