Men’s Gymnastics Lands Coveted Recruiting Class – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/1/2001 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
June 1, 2001
Columbus, Ohio — The Ohio State men’s gymnastics program has received National Letters of Intent from three of the nation’s top junior gymnasts for the 2001-02 season, Miles Avery, OSU head coach announced. Leading the trio of incoming freshman is Randy Monahan (Elizabethtown, Pa.), the 2001 Junior National champion. Monahan follows 2000 champion Jamey Houle (Fr., Enfield, Conn.) and 1999 champ Raj Bhavsar (So., Houston, Texas) to Ohio State.
Monihan, a high school senior, was courted by many of the top programs in the nation, including Michigan, Penn State and Oklahoma.
“I chose Ohio State because I like the program and I like the coaches and the players,” Monihan said, “I thought I could go the farthest under this program. Ohio State has a good history of placing guys on the Olympic and national teams.”
Monahan will be joined by Kerry Adderly (Orlando, Fla.) and Cody Trobaugh (Houston, Texas) on the 2001-02 roster. Trobaugh will be reunited with former club teammate Michael Evans (So., Houston, Texas), who contributed to Ohio State’s run through the 2001 Big Ten and NCAA Championships.
“We seek out the best guys in the nation and we go get them,” Miles Avery, OSU head coach, said, “Everybody was chasing these three guys. Penn State, Oklahoma, Michigan, they were all after them. I made offers to all three gymnasts, but I didn’t expect them all to agree. Getting one is good and two is great. Getting all three is almost unheard of.
“Cody was somewhat beat up at the Junior National Championships,” Avery said, “We’re going to get him rested up and ready to compete next season. He’s a very dynamic performer and he’ll be exciting to watch.”
Monahan claimed the Junior Olympic National title after posting an all-around score of 54.15 at the gymnastics championships May 1-6. Adderly placed 18th with a score of 50.975.
“Two years ago we got Bhavsar, Evans and Dick Huntwork (So., Pickerington, Ohio), who were three of the Top 7 juniors that year,” Avery said, “That might be the only recruiting class we’ve had recently that compares to this one.”
