Big Ten Men’s Gymnastics Week 2 Recap: Michigan wins Windy City Invitational, Penn State tops West Point Open

Week 2 of Big Ten men’s gymnastics saw Michigan and Penn State remain undefeated despite facing multiple opponents. Illinois just narrowly lost to the Wolverines in its first meet of the season. Ohio State started its season with a victory but will need to minimize errors and build on its difficulty to remain competitive.

Michigan @ Windy City Invitational

Final score: Michigan: 405.150, Illinois: 404.450, Washington: 362.750, Simpson: 361.250, NIU: 295.400

Michigan

Down 1.2 points in the final rotation, the Wolverines completed their comeback against Illinois to claim the Windy City Invitational team title on Saturday. Coming off the CGA Rookie of the Week award, Kyle Walchuk showed his consistency on pommel horse with a 13.75 to lead the meet. The standout routine of the week came from Javier Alfonso on rings, where he scored a 15.10 for the event title. Alfonso beat 2023 NCAA still rings champion Ashton Anaya (14.35) by a wide margin and looks to be a favorite for the event title in April.

David Wolma continues to stick his Kas vault, earning a 14.9 score and the event title. Logan McKeown drilled his parallel bars routine to earn a career-high 14.45 on the event. Crew Bold closed out the competition on high bar with a 14.0. Junior Rithik Puri took second place in the all-around with a 78.3 score and earned a spot to compete at Winter Cup. Freshman Pierce Wolfgang also competed in the all-around, earning a 77.6. Michigan showed its depth in Chicago, resting many of its star athletes, which could prove pivotal to the Wolverines’ postseason success. 

Illinois

Illinois came in second place at the Windy City Invitational, losing to Michigan by seven-tenths. The Fighting Illini started the competition on rings, where reigning back-to-back NCAA champion Ashton Anaya scored a 14.35. Illinois dominated vault, where they had five gymnasts score above a 14. Despite mistakes on parallel bars, graduate student Michael Fletcher led the team with a 13.6. Coming off of injury, Logan Myers made his season debut on high bar, scoring a 14.100 for the event title.

2023 Big Ten floor champion Connor McCool showcased his tumbling excellence in a difficult routine which included his signature stuck 2.5 twisting double back to score a competition-high 14.1. Sebastian Ingersoll closed out Illinois’ competition with a strong pommel score of 13.6, which placed him third on the event. Even with a low execution score, freshman Brandon Dang earned a 13.65 thanks to a 6.5 start value, which earned him second overall on the event. If Dang can maintain consistency and minimize errors on his high start value, he could find himself in contention for the NCAA title. Sophomore Tate Costa won the all-around title with a 79.7, qualifying to Winter Cup.

Overall, Michigan and Illinois were neck-and-neck on multiple events, tying on pommel horse and vault. The biggest point differential came on parallel bars, where the Wolverines beat the Illini by nearly three points, but even with early-season mistakes, Illinois seems to be building off of its third-place finish in 2023 and should be on the Wolverines’ heels for the Big Ten title.

Penn State @ West Point Open

Final score: Penn State: 401.300, Navy: 394.500, Army: 388.650, Springfield: 381.850, William & Mary: 359.350

Led by a commanding performance from senior Michael Artlip, the Nittany Lions scored a 401.300 to seal the victory over Navy, Army, Springfield, and William & Mary, marking the 10th straight West Point Open title for Penn State. Artlip won the all-around title with an 81.400 to qualify for Winter Cup in February. Freshman Luke Esparo also competed in the all-around for the first time in his college career, scoring a 76.5 to finish fourth. Fellow freshman Akseli Karsikas put up high marks on rings with a 13.75 and high bar with a 13.800.

During the second day of competition, Nate Warren claimed the individual event title on rings with a 14.0 score. Even with resting Josh Karnes, Penn State saw a nearly eight point increase in its team score and will want to build on that momentum as the Nittany Lions prepare for conference matchups.

Greenville @ Ohio State

The Buckeyes opened their season with a victory over Greenville in Columbus.

Beyond difficulties on floor and pommel horse, the Buckeyes finished the competition strong to start the season 1-0. All-American Donovan Hewitt opened his season with an event victory, scoring a 13.95, which barely edged out Kameron Nelson’s 13.9. Sophomore Justin Ciccone nailed his Roche on vault to score a 14.550 on the event – just a tenth behind Greenville’s Logan Watterson, who ended up winning the event title. Freshman Zach Snyder also had an impressive collegiate debut with a 14.5 to place him in the top 3. With new 5.2 start value vaults in the lineup, vault could be the Buckeyes’ strength this season. It was the only event where they scored 70+ (71.150).

Sophomore standout Caden Spencer dominated the final two rotations, scoring a career-high 14.250 on parallel bars and a 14.35 on high bar and earning the event titles. Spencer appears to be building on a successful freshman year and could be a key component to a turnaround year for the Buckeyes. Looking ahead, Ohio State will need to limit mistakes this week at the Navy Open for a chance to win.