Stibel, Wilson Ink Three for 2012 – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State men’s gymnastics interim co-head coaches Doug Stibel and Blaine Wilson have announced the signing of three gymnasts to the 2012 squad. Drew Moling of Canal Winchester, Ohio, Robert DiRugeris of Woodbury, N.J., and Alex Nork of Mount Laurel, N.J., will join the Buckeyes next fall.
Moling finished 17th overall at the Junior Olympic National Championships in Knoxville, Tenn., last May. In August, Moling concluded the 16-18 age group at the USA Visa National Championships in 10th place, claiming a tie on the rings title with a 13.850 score. He had three other Top 10 finishes on floor exercise, pommel horse and parallel bars.
“Drew will bring a solid foundation of gymnastics to our team and we look for him to contribute on at least five events starting his freshman season,” Stibel said. “He trained at Hocking Valley Gymnastics under head coach Mike Sera, who is a former gymnastics Buckeye.”
DiRugeris finished 32nd overall at the Junior Olympic National Championships last May. The New Jersey native trains at Will-Moor under head coach Tyron Elam, which is the same gym that current Buckeye and NCAA champion Brandon Wynn is from. DiRugeris excels on the floor exercise, rings and vault.
“Bobby took the summer off from competition to focus on training and developing his gymnastics to be a major contender at this year’s Junior Olympic Nationals,” Wilson said. “We are looking for Bobby to compete on at least three or four events starting his freshman year. He will add much needed depth to the team and has a great amount of potential to be a major player in the college ranks.”
Nork, who is a club teammate of DiRugeris at Will-Moor, finished 58th in the all-around at the Junior Nationals last May and will add depth on pommel horse, parallel bars and high bar. Nork will join the Buckeyes next fall with club teammate DiRugeris after also training under Elam.
“Alex took the summer off to train and develop his gymnastics so that he will have a great showing this season,” Stibel said. “We are looking for Alex to do at least three to four events as a freshman. He has the potential to be a strong five-event athlete.”
The Buckeyes continue preseason action this weekend in Cincinnati at the Cup Invitational for a team intrasquad at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Duke Energy Convention Center. Ohio State will then return to Columbus for the Scarlet and Gray intrasquad at 2 p.m. Dec. 16 at St. John Arena before the start of winter break.
