Minneapolis, Minn. - Three members of the Nebraska men's gymnastics team qualified for the individual competition of the Big Ten Championships on Saturday night. The top ten highest scoring athletes on each event Friday night qualified to participate in the individual competition at the Sports Pavillion in Minneapolis.
Sophomore Louis Klein led the Huskers, claiming second place in the high bar competition. Sophomore Grant Perdue finished third on vault and eighth on floor and freshman Sam Chamberlain finished third on parallel bars.
Klein's dominant performance on high bar earned him second-team All-Big Ten honors, the only conference award received by the Huskers.Sophomore Gabriel Jolley received a 2013 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award also.
The night began with floor exercise, pommel horse and still rings. Perdue kicked off the night for Nebraska on floor, performing his routine in the second to last rotation. The 14th-ranked sophomore struggled throughout his routine, stepping out of bounds and then falling on his dismount. Perdue earned a 13.775, placing him in eighth overall.
Competitors then moved to vault, parallel bars and high bar. Perdue continued into the second half, leading the second rotation on vault. The sophomore earned a 15.15 for his vault, earning him third overall at the end of the night.
Klein followed soon after, rounding out the second rotation. The Utica, Mich., native performed a solid routine, followed by a stuck dismount which caused the crowd to errupt with excitement. The sophomore's routine earned a 15.075, placing him second in the event.
Freshman Sam Chamberlain finished out the night for the Huskers, waiting for the seventh rotation to perform his parallel bar routine. The freshman performed a solid routine, earning him a 14.775 on the event. His score placed him third on the event.
The evening was concluded with Big Ten conference individual awards, as well as first and second-team honorees. Michigan Head Coach Kurt Golder received Coach of the Year honors, while Penn State freshman Trevor Howard was the recipient of the Freshman of the Year honors. Michigan's Sam Mikulak grabbed the Gymnast of the Year award after taking home the all-around championship, as well as the high bar event final.
The all-conference first team consisted of the top six all-around finishers, as well as the first place individual finisher in each event. Second team honors were given to the second place finishers in each event, excluding those who were already members of the first team.
The Huskers will now wait until next week to learn if they were accepted to the NCAA championships. The NCAA will announce its National Collegiate Men's Gymnastics Selections next week on Tuesday at approximately 4 p.m. A total of 12 teams, 36 event specialists and six all-around competitors will be chosen for competition at this year's NCAA Men's Gymnastics championships, which will be held in Penn Station, Pa. on April 19-21 on the Penn State campus.
2013 Big Ten Championships
Individual Competition
Sports Pavillion
Minneapolis, Minn.
Floor Exercise
Grant Perdue: 13.775 (8th)
Vault
Grant Perdue: 15.150 (3rd)
Parallel Bars
Sam Chamberlain: 14.775 (3rd)
High Bar
Louis Klein: 15.075 (2nd)
Coach of the Year
Kurt Golder (Michigan)
Gymnast of the Year
Sam Mikulak (Michigan)
Freshman of the Year
Trevor Howard (Penn State)
First Team All-Big Ten
Sam Mikulak (Michigan)
Adrian de los Angeles (Michigan)
Javier Balboa (Iowa)
Yoshi Mori (Illinois)
Felix Aronovich (Penn State)
Broderick Shemansky (Iowa)
Stacey Ervin (Michigan)
Craig Hernandez (Penn State)
Syque Caesar (Michigan)
Fred Hartville (Illinois)
Second Team All-Big Ten
Ellis Mannon (Minnesota)
Mike Wilner (Illinois)
Danny Steiner (Ohio State)
Louis Klein (Nebraska)
Sportsmanship Award Winners
Logan Bradley (Illinois)
Eric Lofstrom (Iowa)
Stacey Ervin (Michigan)
Adam LaFleur (Minnesota)
Gabriel Jolley (Nebraska)
Drew Moling (Ohio State)
Scott Rosenthal (Penn State)
