Sam Stinsa Student Manager | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Website
Sam Stinsa Student Manager | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Website
For the first time since 2016, four gymnasts from the University of Illinois won titles at the Big Ten Championships. The event took place on Saturday night at the State Farm Center.
Connor McCool claimed victory in the floor exercise, Brandon Dang triumphed on pommel horse, Ashton Anaya succeeded on still rings, and Amari Sewell won on vault.
"Tonight was a roller coaster," said head coach Daniel Ribeiro. "We had a tough start to the night with a few falls. Then we had a serious injury to Evan Manivong. They carried him to the training room and he walked on crutches 5 minutes later to support his teammates. That selfless action lifted our team up and turned the entire meet around. Evan was the turning point of our night. From then on we went and had a record-breaking night with four Big Ten Champions! This is truly a special team with 20 special guys and I am so grateful to be leading them."
McCool secured his title by scoring 14.500, tying with Michigan's Landen Blixt. Dang achieved his first Big Ten title with a score of 14.800, surpassing Ohio State's Parker Thackston.
Anaya needed a score of 14.125 to win against Michigan's Rithik Puri and managed to score 14.200, marking his third consecutive title in this category.
The Illini featured 16 athletes in individual championships, more than any other Big Ten school participating in this competition.
Preston Ngai qualified for pommel horse and vault events, placing fourth in both categories with scores of 13.575 and 14.625 respectively.
Ethan Boder and Logan Myers tied for seventh place on still rings alongside Anaya with identical scores of 13.750.
Michael Fletcher placed third on parallel bars with a score of 14.050 while Sebastian Ingersoll scored 13.750 on high bar, tying for seventh place.
Brandon Dang received Freshman of the Year honors while several Illini gymnasts were named All-Big Ten First Team: Ashton Anaya, Tate Costa, Brandon Dang, Connor McCool, and Amari Sewell; Michael Fletcher earned second-team honors.
The Illinois team will be selected for their session at the NCAA Championships set for April 19-20 at Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio.
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