The men’s collegiate gymnastics season wrapped up this weekend with the 2019 NCAA championships, and for the first time in five years we have a new team champion! It was a thrilling meet that came down to the last routines to find out who all would win the NCAA titles.
Each week, we’re dishing out a few superlatives for some of our favorite moments, looks and results from the weekend of competition. Below those, you’ll find your typical results and highlights from every men’s meet.
Routine of the Week
Josiah Eng (Stanford) – Rings
The rings specialist came through for the Cardinal in the anchor spot on the final event at the NCAA championships. It wasn’t perfect nor close to his best, and it may have received some boo’s from the crowd when the score was posted, but the senior in his final routine for Stanford did enough to clinch his team an NCAA title.
Surprise Performance of the Week
Anthony McCallum (Michigan) – Vault
https://twitter.com/UMichGym/status/1119784570164060165
Usually a two-time NCAA champion on an event doesn’t fall into the “surprise” category, but after falling on his vault in qualifying, all eyes were on the Michigan senior. McCallum delivered in a huge way, sticking his gigantic Tsuk double pike and bringing in the highest score of the entire NCAA championships.
Best Celebration
Stanford
https://twitter.com/Pac12Network/status/1119791616103829505
How can you not smile when watching a team react to winning the natty?
The Highlights
| NCAA Championships Session I With No. 2 Stanford, No. 3 Michigan, No. 6 Minnesota, No. 7 Nebraska, No. 10 Navy, and No. 11 California | |||||||
| Full Results | Michigan: 408.389 | Stanford: 407.588 | Nebraska: 405.723 | Minnesota: 396.059 | Navy: 393.123 | California: 390.859 | |
| NCAA Championships Session II With No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Illinois, No. 5 Penn State, No. 8 Iowa, No. 9 Ohio State, and No. 12 Army | |||||||
| Full Results | Oklahoma: 419.191 | Illinois: 410.324 | Penn State: 404.287 | Iowa: 400.390 | Ohio State: 399.754 | Army: 383.855 | |
| NCAA Championships Finals | |||||||
| Full Results | Stanford: 415.222 | Oklahoma: 414.556 | Nebraska: 407.489 | Michigan: 406.354 | Illinois: 405.358 | Penn State: 399.725 | |
| AA: Malone 85.832 | FX: Malone 14.800 | PH: Yoder 14.633 | SR: Diab 14.733 | ||||
| VT: McCallum 15.266 | PB: Wiskus 14.200 | HB: Malone 14.633 | |||||
The Big Storyline: The team race between Oklahoma and Stanford came down to the wire, with the Sooners finishing on high bar and the Cardinal ending on rings. Levi Anderson was the last competitor to go, and although he hit his routine, his score was not enough for Oklahoma to overtake Stanford on top of the leaderboard. Stanford ended Oklahoma’s quest for a five-peat and was led by Brody Malone, the future star of NCAA gymnastics. Malone topped the all around field while also winning floor and high bar to leave his freshman year with four NCAA titles. Yul Moldauer had a rough go for the Sooners, falling on his flair sequence on floor to start his day, clipping his legs on parallel bars and completely missing his Kovacs on high bar to end his NCAA career. Nebraska also had a fantastic day, landing on the podium in third after coming into the weekend seeded ninth. Ultimately, it was the Huskers’ ability to maximize their execution scores across the board that not only advanced them out of the first semifinal but propelled them onto the podium and helped them to the program’s best finish since 1999. Read our live blog from the NCAA championships final session for a longer run-through of everything that went down Saturday night.
Implications: Stanford won its program’s sixth NCAA team title and first since 2011. Oklahoma’s winning streak came to an end, finishing with a stellar 121 consecutive victories—good for third best in NCAA history among all sports.
Records: Illinois senior Alex Diab won his second-straight NCAA rings title, and Michigan senior Anthony McCallum claimed his third vault title. Minnesota’s Shane Wiskus won parallel bars for the sophomore’s first title and senior Alec Yoder of Ohio State won pommel horse in his final NCAA competition.
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Article by Brandis Heffner
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