Ohio State
Big Ten Championships
Alex Johnson Wins Big Ten High Bar Championship – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
March 28, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Junior Alex Johnson won a gold medal on high bar and four Buckeyes finished in the top five of the event Saturday night at the 2015 Big Ten Event Championships at Rec Hall.
Johnson used a season-best mark of 15.325 to win the first conference title of his career, along with First Team All-Big Ten honors. Johnson, a native of Marysville, Ohio, is the second Buckeye in a row to win the Big Ten high bar crown after Sean Melton claimed the title last season.
“My team and coaches have been pushing me for three years now,” Johnson said after the meet. “This championship is just as much theirs as it is mine. It’s a great feeling to be on top of the podium at a Big Ten meet and to bring the title back to Columbus.”
Sophomore Andrew Rickly joined Johnson as a high bar medalist, claiming bronze with a score of 14.725. He earned Second Team All-Big Ten accolades in the process.
All five Buckeyes on high bar qualified from the team competition Friday for event finals on Saturday, and four finished in the top five. Along with Johnson and Rickly, senior Drew Moling placed fourth with a 14.675 and freshman Seth Delbridge tied for fifth with a 14.450. Senior Alex Nork was eighth (14.400).
Moling also earned a fifth-place finish on parallel bars with a 14.700 on his way to First Team All-Big Ten honors, the first of his career. Moling placed fourth in the all-around competition Friday night.
On vault, freshman Alexander Wilson made the podium with a sixth-place score of 15.000. Senior Larry Mayer earned a 10th-place result (14.700).
First Team All-Big Ten
Illinois — Bobby Baker
Illinois — Fred Hartville
Illinois — C.J. Maestas
Illinois — Jordan Valdez
Michigan — Stacey Ervin
Michigan — Nick Hunter
Minnesota — Ellis Mannon
Ohio State — Alex Johnson
Ohio State — Drew Moling
Penn State — Matthew Felleman
Penn State — Trevor Howard
Second Team All-Big Ten
Illinois — Matthew Foster
Illinois — Joey Peters
Illinois — Mike Wilner
Iowa — Douglas Sullivan
Michigan — Anthony Stefanelli
Minnesota — Steve Jaciuk
Minnesota — Yaroslav Pochinka
Nebraska — Kyle King
Ohio State — Andrew Rickly
Sportsmanship Honorees
Illinois — C.J. Maestas
Iowa — Del Vecchio Orozco
Michigan — Stacey Ervin
Minnesota — Sean Bauer
Nebraska — Robbie Kocks
Ohio State — Drew Moling
Penn State — Trevor Howard
Coach of the Year — Randy Jepson, Penn State
Freshman of the Year — Bobby Baker, Illinois
Gymnast of the Year — Bobby Baker, Illinois
Up Next
Ohio State travels to Norman, Okla., for the 2015 NCAA Qualifier and NCAA championships April 9-11.
