Ohio State Totals Second-Highest Team Score of the Season in Big Ten Team Championships
4/1/2023 12:38:07 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 7 Ohio State men’s gymnastics team (11-10, 1-3 B1G) finished fifth with a score of 405.500 in the team portion of the 2023 Big Ten Championships on Friday evening in Covelli. This is the Buckeyes’ second-highest team score of the season.
Ohio State had a trio of top-three individual performances. Parker Thackston’s 13.850 on pommel horse and Caden Spencer’s personal-best 14.400 on high bar were both second in the competition. Kameron Nelson had a season-best 14.750 on vault to finish third overall. Luke Smigliani was named Ohio State’s Sportsmanship Award honoree.
How it Happened
Pommel Horse
Ohio State earned a 65.200 as a team on pommel horse to begin the meet. Thackston led the Buckeyes with a 13.850 in his Big Ten Championships debut. Kristian Grahovski and Jesse Pakele earned a 13.000 and 12.900, respectively. Smigliani (12.750) and Arthur Ashton (12.700) rounded out the OSU rotation.
Rings
The Buckeyes combined for 66.350 on rings. Donovan Hewitt led the way with a 13.950, while Nelson (13.400) and Justin Ciccone (12.500) each stuck their dismount. Ashton earned a 13.300 and Tomohiro Kawada had a 13.200 to wrap up the Buckeyes’ rotation.
Vault
Ohio State turned in its second-best vault score of the season with a 72.150. Nelson (14.750, tying OSU’s best score of the season) and Hewitt (14.550) led the way with season-best scores. Spencer earned a 14.350, while Jacob Harmon and Kazuki Hayashi each had a 14.250.
Parallel Bars
The Buckeyes earned 66.100 as a team on parallel bars. Jakob Murray earned a 13.500 to lead Ohio State’s rotation. Nelson (13.450) and Spencer (12.900) both stuck their dismounts. Tyler Rockwood earned a 13.350 and Harmon had a 12.900 in his parallel bar debut.
High Bar
OSU earned a team score of 66.450 on high bar. Spencer earned a personal-best score of 14.400 with a stuck dismount, beating his previous PR by 0.500 for the highest Buckeye score of the season. Hayashi had a 13.750, while Jadon Roberson had a 13.100 with his stick. Harmon (12.800) and Hewitt (12.400) wrapped up the Buckeyes’ rotation.
Floor
Ohio State wrapped up the meet with its third-best team floor score of the season (69.250). Nelson led the Buckeyes with a 14.150 and a stuck final pass. Hayashi earned a season-best 14.000, while Pakele (13.800), Spencer (13.750) and Harmon (13.550) were close behind.
What They Said
Head Coach Rustam Sharipov: “I’m proud of the team and our hard-fought effort throughout the entire competition. The results don’t reflect our performance, but this was an eye-opening experience for us as we now know where we will need to step up moving forward. Thank you, Buckeye nation, for all your support and we hope to see you again on Saturday!”
Up Next
The Big Ten Championships wrap up on Saturday evening, beginning at 8 p.m. ET, with individual event finals. Tickets are still on sale and can be purchased HERE. Fans with ticketing questions should call the Ohio State Ticket Office at 1-800-GO-BUCKS or email athletic.tix@osu.edu.
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