Natalie Claims Horizontal Bar Title at U.S. Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
8/26/1999 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
Aug. 26, 1999
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State men’s gymnast Jamie Natalie (Jr., Hockessin, Del.) won the horizontal bar title Wednesday at the 1999 John Hancock U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Sacramento, Calif., during the individual event finals.
Natalie received a score of 9.95 to claim the horizontal bar title and also tied for fifth place on the vault (9.525). He was unable to compete on floor and vault because of a knee surgery performed three weeks before the competition.
Former Buckeye Blaine Wilson (Columbus, Ohio) won the still rings (9.60) and placed second on vault (9.75) and parallel bars (9.75). The three-time defending national champion was in second place after the preliminary all-around (57.225), just one-tenth of a point behind leader Jason Gatson.
All-American Doug Stibel (Canton, Mich.), who completed his eligibility at OSU last season, tied for second place on the horizontal bar (9.90) and was in 12th place after the preliminary all-around.
Buckeye Jay Nardelli (Jr., Centerville, Va.) also competed in the meet but did not place in the top 25 in the all-around.
The all-around finals will be held from 10 p.m.-1 a.m. (EST) today. The preliminary all-around scores count for 20 percent of a gymnast’s all-around total while the scores from the final competition account for 80 percent.
The top 14 gymnasts at the all-around competition Friday will comprise the U.S. National Team that will compete in the World Team Trials, Sept. 15-18, in Kansas City, Mo. From there, the top six performers will represent the U.S. at the World Championships, Oct. 8-16, in Tiajnin, China. The U.S. team has to finish 12th or better at that event in order to qualify for the 2000 Olympic Games in Australia.
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