1998 Men’s Gymnastics Season Outlook – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/2/1998 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
March 2, 1998
COLUMBUS, Ohio, – Ohio State has competed at the NCAA Championships nine consecutive years , a feat no other school can match. In his first year as head coach, Miles Avery and the 1998 Ohio State men’s gymnastics team would like to continue that tradition of being one of the top teams in the nation.
Over the last nine years, Ohio State has captured a national championship in 1996, won four Big Ten titles, produced 40 All-Americans and three Nissen Award winners; Blaine Wilson (1997), Kip Simons (1994) and Mike Racanelli (1990).
Avery, hired as head coach in May after serving as an OSU assistant coach for nine years, said the goal this year is to “win the Big Ten, finish in the top three at Regionals and qualify for the NCAA Championships.” With the loss of six seniors, including the two top gymnasts in the country- Drew Durbin and Blaine Wilson- the challenge will be great. Avery will have to rely on an experienced group of juniors and a talented freshmen class. Avery will also be assisted by former Soviet National Team coach Arnold Kvetenadze and second year assistant coach Mike Racanelli.
“Everyone in the gymnastics community is excited about Arnold coaching at the collegiate level,” Avery said. “He’s been working with the U.S. Junior gymnasts and has had success with them, hopefully he will contribute even more to the advanced senior college gymnasts.”
Floor Exercise
Elsner and Stibel are two returning members of last year’s floor exercise team due to the loss of Wilson, Durbin and Neil Niemi. Avery expects Elsner and Stibel plus Michael Morgan to step up and be the backbone on the floor. This past summer all three competed at the John Hancock U.S. National Championships in Denver, Colo. and finished in the top 24. Avery believes any one of them can win floor at any level whether it be at the Big Ten, Regional or NCAA championships.
“Tim is easily one of the leaders athletically for our team,” Avery said. “He is certainly one of the guys that will be in the forefront of men’s gymnastics. He was Big Ten Freshman of the Year two years ago and he had a very successful year last year.”
Freshmen Jamie Natalie, a U.S. National Team member, and Jay Nardelli are expected to make an immediate impact on floor.
“When you look in Jamie’s eyes, he’s hungry for knowledge he wants to learn,” Avery said. “He wants to be so good. He looks for everything he can to get better and as a coach you love to see that.”
Pommel Horse
Pommel horse is one event that Avery is concerned about. The team lost the most talent on this event including three-time national champion Durbin. However senior Seth Klayman has stepped up his level of difficulty and has moved into the leadership role. Avery says Klayman will compete strong and hopefully be the consistent high score on pommel horse that the team needs. Klayman’s positive attitude about the sport will help him succeed.
“Klayman does have a quiet leadership, leading by example,” Avery said. “He always gets what’s expected of him done. Coaches and teammates respect him. He’s very concerned with how well his teammates do on each event also.”
Junior Michael Canales has improved throughout the summer also and will step up on this event.
“If Michael can score in the 9.6-9.8 range, he’ll more than have done his job for the team,” Avery said. “Mike is also the most vocal and a great leader for the team.”
Pommel Horse will also be one of Natalie’s best events. Natalie placed sixth at the John Hancock U.S. National Championships on this event and is considered one of the best pommel horse workers in the country.
Rings
Gone is two-time still rings national champion Wilson. There are several gymnasts, though, who will compete for the six spots on this years ring team. Junior Peter Landry, who was one of best ring workers on the team last year, should be a leader on rings this year.
“Peter was ranked ninth in the country last season but could very well move up and be an All-American on this event,” Avery said. “Peter will be the person other schools judge our ring team on.”
Junior Jason Pelland has also improved on rings and will be competing for a spot.
“Jason has fought through some injuries the past two years and I’m hoping that this year Jason will be our secret weapon,” Avery said. “I hope people look at Jason and ask ‘Where did that guy come from?’. That’s the spark I see in Jason.”
Last season Rahsaan Williams did not compete but is ready perform strong on the rings.
“Rahsaan really wants to make the team,” Avery said. “I expect him to make the ring team as I see him improving everyday and substantially over last year.”
Rings is also a strong event for freshmen Daren Lynch and Judd Shaffer.
“Judd is a very hard worker,” Avery said. “He has a nagging wrist injury that prevents him from doing some of the events but he’s always in the gym doing everything he can to be ready to compete when he is well.”
Vault
Vault could be one of Ohio State’s best events. With an improved practice vaulting facility, built this summer for the gymnasts to train on, Avery hopes Ohio State becomes the best and most powerful vaulting team in the country.
“This could be one event we are head and shoulders above the rest of the competition,” Avery said. “I see the potential of the gymnasts in this gym to be the best.”
The best vaulting will come from Stibel, Morgan and Natalie. Stibel holds the school record in this event with a 9.90. Nardelli’s power will also make him a strong contender on vault.
“Nardelli certainly is one of our very talented freshman that we have,” Avery said. “We can see that Jay’s strengths, his basics, and the skills he had as a junior gymnast we look at the potential for Jay to be a very good gymnast.”
Parallel Bars
The event with the most depth is the parallel bars. Morgan, Stibel and Elsner competed well at the John Hancock U.S. National Championships with Stibel placing in the top seven in this event. “Parallel bars will be one our best events, ” Avery said. “Certainly as I look at the incoming freshman, the gymnasts who competed last season as well as those waiting in the wings, anxious to compete.” Parallel Bars is Nardelli’s and Lynch’s best event as Lynch was a finalist at the Junior Olympic National Championships. “Clearly Daren is one of best gymnasts on parallel bars,” Avery said. “I think we are going to look to Daren to add that extra depth that we need.”
High Bar
High Bar will be an event with a lot of depth also. Stibel is the National High Bar champion and was ranked first in the nation last season. He also scored a career-high and the school’s only perfect score of 10.00 on this event last season. “Without question Doug is the best high bar worker in the country,” Avery said. “He is a phenomenal high bar worker and a very talented gymnast. I’m amazed at how he is constantly improving.” Morgan tied for third at Regionals and he finished sixth at the John Hancock U.S. National Championships. “Morgan’s going to be tough to beat for anyone this year,” Avery said. “Hopefully he can be in the top six at the NCAAs.”
Summary
A majority of the gymnasts could compete at any time in the all around. First year walk-on Mitch Claman practices hard in the gym everyday but may not compete this season.
Strength and Conditioning
Another way for the Buckeyes to improve this year is through a strong work ethic. All gymnasts participate in a strength and conditioning program. The gymnasts go through a more structured, vigorous training to get themselves more physically prepared for the season. The team then goes to the gym to practice their routines. Avery believes that the best conditioned athletes will succeed. “I’m really excited about the strength and conditioning program,” Avery said. “If the athletes stay healthier, they’ll be able to train longer and that is how champions are made. Sean Shepherd and Jodie Nash have just been a tremendous asset to the team and this is just another advantage Ohio State has over other teams.”
Facilities
This past summer, practice facilities at Larkins Hall have been improved to maximize the gymnast’s ability. Some of the improvements include a new vaulting area. “We’ve really worked hard on our gymnastics facility to make it as efficient as possible and to get the most and the best equipment,” Avery said. “It certainly is state of the art. We’ve done all we need to do stay as successful as we have been.”
Schedule
Ohio State has one of the toughest schedules in the nation this year. The season begins at Illinois-Chicago with the Buckeyes competing against Big Ten rivals Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State and Iowa, and also Syracuse and Illinois-Chicago in the Windy City Invitational. The Buckeyes will attempt to win the meet for the third consecutive year. Ohio State will get its first taste of what the Big Ten competition is like at this meet. “Competing at the Windy City Invitational is always a gauge for how the season can go,” Avery said. “We’ve won it the last two years and then have gone on to win the Big Ten title.” Ohio State has a tough road schedule as the team travels to Norman, Okla. to take on 1997 NCAA Runner-up Oklahoma. The Buckeyes also travel to Penn State, Michigan State and Nebraska. This year’s Big Ten Championships will be held in Ann Arbor, Mich. Avery believes Illinois and Penn State will be the teams to beat this year as Illinois has the returning top two all-arounders from last years Big Ten Championship. Avery is excited about this year’s schedule. “Certainly we want to meet all of the teams in the Big Ten”, Avery said. “But we also want to meet the toughest talent out there. I want the guys to get out there and feel the pressure of having to hit a routine to win on enemy territory. That is what the gymnasts will feel at Big Tens, East Regional and at a national championship. We need that type of challenge early on from tough opponents.”
Academics
Ohio State gymnasts have always had a strong tradition of success inside the gym as well as inside the classroom. As a team last season, the Buckeyes finished 12th in the country for having a cumulative grade point average above 3.00. This past year, six gymnasts were named Academic All-Big Ten honorees and were OSU Scholar-Athletes. Neil Niemi, Chad Finefrock, Klayman, Canales, and were named Academic All-Americans. “We call these gymnasts to a higher academic standard than the normal student,” Avery said. “I’m especially proud of the fact that every recruited gymnast that has gone through Ohio State has graduated and have gone on to succeed in the field they chose.”
