The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1468055
60 THE WOLVERINE JUNE / JULY 2022 OLYMPIC SPORTS first all-around national title since the 2014 season (Sam Mikulak) and first title overall since Anthony McCallum in 2019 (vault). Juda is the 19th individual in pro- gram history to win an NCAA title, a fact that he still gets goosebumps when he hears. In addition to his double-gold medal haul, Juda earned six All-America hon- ors, tying Mikulak's modern-era school record. He also placed in the top eight on high bar (second, 14.566) and paral- lel bars (fourth, 14.366) in addition to finishing eighth on both floor exercise and still rings. Juda was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2020 and Big Ten Gymnast of the Year in 2021 (when he was also a two-time All-American), before winning the latter once again this past season, becoming the school's second athlete to win the award twice (joining Mikulak). He'd had success in the past, but this year was at a different level. "I have this quote that my girlfriend [U-M women's gymnastics sophomore Reyna Guggino] told me one time before a big competition — it's stuck with me ever since she told me it — and it's, 'Be where your feet are.' "That's something [U-M athletic counselor] Kevyn Monier has been trying to tell me the past few years — just have neutral thinking about the whole thing, not letting one moment completely dic- tate how you're going to react and not letting the situation control you, instead controlling the situation. "Going into this year, I was so proud of myself, because I didn't al- low myself to get a feeling of burn- ing out at any point. And looking back on this year, it's been a lot of peaks and valleys that I've had to have, in terms of my training. I had to peak for the winter nationals [the Winter Cup] and then shortly af- ter that I had a plethora of college competitions that the team needed me for, and then I got selected to the World Cup event that I needed to be in good shape for in Egypt [2022 FIG Apparatus World Cup]. Shortly af- ter that, [it was] the Big Ten Cham- pionships and two weeks after that, the NCAA Championships. "It matured me a lot, because I learned that in order to be able to compete in so many competi- tions, you have to pace yourself. My mindset was just trying to be the best version of myself and letting the results speak for themselves. … Just take each meet as they come, and hope for the best and trust in all the training so that the results will come." The results certainly came for Juda last season, and he has even higher aspirations moving forward. He'll take another shot at winning the team national title and excelling as an in- dividual once again with U-M next year. Beyond the NCAA circuit, Juda has the 2022 World Championships (Oct. 29- Nov. 6 in Liverpool, England) at the top of his mind right now. That, along with two other lines — 2023 World Cham- pionships and 2024 Olympic Games — reside on his computer screen as a daily reminder of what's on the horizon. "I can say, so far, my college career has been a success," Juda said. "But I don't want to stop there, and it's a long, hard battle." ❏ MICHIGAN PROMOTES YUAN XIAO Michigan director of athletics Warde Manuel announced April 25 the promotion of interim men's gymnastics head coach and longtime assistant Yuan Xiao to head coach. Xiao signed a five- year contract that runs through the 2027 season. The fifth head coach in program history, Xiao led the Wolverines to a 24-3 overall record, the 2022 Big Ten Conference championship and a share of the league regular- season title. The Maize and Blue finished third at the NCAA Finals, with two NCAA individual titles and 11 All-Americans. Xiao was named Big Ten Coach of the Year and College Gymnastics Associa- tion Regional Coach of the Year. "I am thrilled that Xiao will con- tinue to lead the men's gymnas- tics program following a success- ful tenure as a valued assistant and interim head coach," Manuel said in a statement. "His lead- ership and talents are known throughout the gymnastics com- munity, as are his contributions specifically here at Michigan. The sport of men's gymnastics is for- tunate to have someone of his character." "I am fortunate to have been alongside Kur t Golder for 16 years and am proud of what this team accomplished," Xiao said. "I look forward to leading this great program for years to come, and I am very appreciative of those who have supported us this past season." Xiao was Paul Juda's group coach while former head coach Kurt Golder (who retired after the 2021 season) was at the helm, so the two have a strong bond. "Watching him develop in this role this year was very eye-open- ing to me, and made it extremely clear to me that he was the per- son for the job," Juda said. "Not that I had any kind of doubts or anything, but he confirmed all of my prior expectations. " This is what a head coach should be — this is what all head coaches aspire to be." — Clayton Sayfie Juda became the Wolverines' first individual national champion since 2019 and their first all-around winner since Sam Mikulak took first place in 2014. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY