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IOWA CITY, Iowa — In his final Big Ten competition, senior co-captain Alec Yoder rose to the occasion to win the 2019 Big Ten pommel horse title at the Big Ten event championships on Saturday night.
🥇 No better way to wrap up his final Big Ten pommel horse routine. Congrats to @AlecYoder on winning the 2019 Big Ten pommel horse title! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/uJQyi7wmpu
— Ohio State Men's Gym (@OhioStateMGYM) April 7, 2019
Entering the night Yoder knew that winning the pommel horse title would not be easy, with Penn State’s Stephen Nedoroscik and Michael Paradise from Illinois providing the night’s biggest competition. As the senior stepped to the apparatus, Nedoroscik held a firm lead with a 14.850, but Yoder came ready to finish his Big Ten career in style as he crushed his routine to get a 14.875 and claim his second Big Ten pommel horse title, bookending his Big Ten career with the same title he won as a freshman in 2016.
Absolute barn burner routine from @AlecYoder on the pommel tonight! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/l0Lh6dvfRy
— Ohio State Men's Gym (@OhioStateMGYM) April 7, 2019
Yoder wasn’t finished though as he nailed a solid routine on the parallel bars that ended up taking second place, earning a second podium finish for the senior.
Not content with just one title, @AlecYoder comes out swinging on the parallel bars! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/sCbYDW9Fda
— Ohio State Men's Gym (@OhioStateMGYM) April 7, 2019
“It’s a great night for our guys, I’m so proud of the guys that represented Buckeye Nation tonight,” head coach Rustam Sharipov said. “Alec taking the title on the pommel and second on the parallel bars was fantastic. Then we had Sean Neighbarger, Alex Wilson and Trevor Cummings giving it their all. We’re going to celebrate what the guys did tonight, but we’ve still got work to do. We get a whole week to prepare for the NCAA Championships, we’re going to make the most of it.”
In addition to Yoder’s accomplishments, Neighbarger took fourth in the vault, and senior co-captain Joey Bonanno earned the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Sean Neighbarger bringing the heat on the vault! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/4VgkgpTVQp
— Ohio State Men's Gym (@OhioStateMGYM) April 7, 2019
The Buckeyes are headed back to Columbus to prepare for the NCAA Championships in Champaign, Illinois on April 19-20.
