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TWICE AS NICE Stephen Nedoroscik successfully defends his NCAA pommel horse championship VARSITY VIEWS S tephen Nedoroscik knew exactly how difficult it would be to win an individ- ual national title at the NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships. That's be- cause he won one at last year's event, claiming the pommel horse crown as a Penn State freshman. But Nedoroscik kept his composure and successfully defended his title. His nearly flawless routine highlighted Penn State's showing at the cham- pionships April 21 in Chicago. Three other Nittany Lion gymnasts took home All-America honors. "It feels unbelievable," Nedoroscik said. "I did- n't think that I was going to be able to do it again, but I did. This year felt so much better when I won be- cause I got to do it alongside my brothers." The Lions qualified for the team finals this year, finishing sixth overall with a score of 401.991. Oklahoma earned its fourth consecutive NCAA championship, scoring a 414.858, while Minnesota fin- ished second with a 411.923 and Illinois took third with a 411.689. Sophomore Sam Zakutney became a two-time All-American, with top-eight finishes on parallel bars and high bar, while Colin Coates earned All-America status on the pommel horse and Greg Tamargo received similar recognition on the still rings. Despite those perform- ances, coach Randy Jepson had mixed feelings about his team's showing, as the Lions were last in the six-team field. "It was a challenging night tonight at the national championship," Jepson said. "We fell a little below our expectations, but I'm really proud of how some of our guys pulled it up and got it done. Stephen got another championship and we had three other All-Americans, so [those were] real great performances. Although he wasn't an All-American, Wyatt Tyndall was great all weekend. He did not miss a routine." Nedoroscik, whose national title was the 54th by a Penn State men's gymnast, waited through three rotations for his turn. He took a deep breath and per- formed an almost perfect routine, scoring a 14.666 to take over the first-place spot. The Worcester, Mass., native became only the third Penn State gymnast to cap- ture the title two times, joining Brandon Stefaniak (1999, 2000) and Mark Sohn (1988-91). Nedoroscik also became only the 11th Penn State men's gymnast to earn multi- ple NCAA titles and the first since Luis Vargas, who won the NCAA all-around title in both 2004 and '05. The trip to nationals closed the book on Penn State's 2018 season. In addition to their individual title and four All-Amer- ica performances, the Lions claimed two individual Big Ten championships, as Ne- doroscik won the pommel horse and Brennan Pantazis took first place in the floor exercise. Those performances have Jepson feel- ing optimistic about the 2019 season. "The crazy thing is that we only lose one routine going into next year," he said, "so the future is bright. But we will have to go earn it next year." ■ NEDOROSCIK JOE KRENTZMAN & SON, INC. • Buyers and Brokers of Steel, Iron and Nonferrous Metals • Industrial Scrap Buyers • Container Service Available • Large Service Territory Since 1903 Lewistown, PA • Hollidaysburg, PA (800) 543-2000 • www.krentzman.net F irst i n S cra p

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