March 28, 2015
Photo Gallery
Big Ten Championships - Individual Finals Rec Hall | University Park, Pa.
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| VIDEO: Postmeet Interviews |
| Championship Central |
| MEET RESULTS | ||||
| Gymnast, School - Score | ||||
| AA | M. Felleman, PSU - 87.200 | |||
| FX | C.J. Maestas, ILL - 15.400 | |||
| PH | E. Mannon, MINN - 15.525 | |||
| SR | T. Howard, PSU - 15.750 | |||
| V | F. Hartville, ILL - 15.275 | |||
| PB | Two Gymnasts Tied - 15.375 | |||
| HB | A. Johnson, OSU - 15.325 | |||
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Competing in his home venue, junior Trevor Howard (Columbus, Ohio) claimed his second straight Big Ten title on the still rings to account for the Penn State men's gymnastics program's lone individual event title on the final day of the Big Ten Men's Gymnastics Championships at Rec Hall.
Overall, Penn State had seven gymnasts perform 10 different routines at the individual event finals. The Blue and White placed three gymnasts among the top-three on the podium, including two appearances by Howard. On the opening day of competition, senior Matthew Felleman (Medway, Mass.) claimed the third Big Ten all-around title in program history with a score of 87.200.
At the conclusion of the championships, head coach Randy Jepson was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year for the third time in his career. Jepson, in his 24th year as the frontman for the Nittany Lion program, also won the award in 2003 and 2008 after claiming the team title in each season.
Howard competed in the most individual event finals of any Big Ten gymnast (four) and found the podium on three occasions. His 15.750 on the still rings was the top score on any event and made him the first back-to-back champion for Penn State on the event since Kevin Tan won three straight from 2002-2004. It is the ninth overall still rings title for Penn State, who has won nine of the last 15 conference crowns on the event.
On the vault, Howard finished in a three-way tie for third place, with Nebraska's Kyle King and Illinois Bobby Baker, by scoring 15.100. He also found the podium with a fifth place showing on the floor exercise at 14.675. He also competed on the parallel bars and finished eighth with a score of 13.925.
Felleman followed up his all-around championship with a second place finish on the parallel bars during the individual event finals. The senior scored 14.950 to grab the runner-up showing behind Ohio State's Alex Johnson's 15.325.
Freshman Thad Lawson (Chesapeake, Va.) was the only other Nittany Lion to compete in multiple events, qualifying for the floor exercise and vault event finals. The rookie placed fourth overall on the floor exercise with a 15.000, just one spot ahead of Howard, and placed ninth on the vault with a score of 14.775.
The Nittany Lions placed three gymnasts in the still rings finals, with Tristan Duverglas (West Orange, N.J.) and Alexis Torres (Catano, Puerto Rico) joining Howard in the finals. Duverglas finished fourth overall at 15.375, while Torres - returning from an injury he suffered in the team finals on Friday night - finished 10th at 14.425.
Senior Craig Hernandez (Libertyville, Ill.) qualified for the pommel horse final and finished fifth with a 14.750 and redshirt-sophomore Leroy Clarke, Jr. (Maplewood, N.J.) joined Felleman in the high bar final and tied for fifth place on the event with a 14.450.
The Nittany Lions will have an 11 day break between competitions, as they prepare for the NCAA Championships in Norman, Okla. Penn State will look to capture its first team national championship since 2007, as they enter the event ranked No. 2 nationally behind host Oklahoma.
Follow Penn State men's gymnastics on Facebook by clicking here or on Twitter @PennStateMGYM.
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