COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 7 Ohio State men’s gymnastics team completed the comeback against No. 4 Illinois in the Buckeyes’ first home meet of the regular season, earning the 401.000 to 399.200 victory for OSU’s first Big Ten win of the season.
The Buckeyes put together their season-best scores as a team on rings and vault, also tying their season-best on high bar. Kazuki Hayashi (vault), Kameron Nelson (parallel bars) and Donovan Hewitt (high bar) each had a stick, while Tyler Rockwood had a career-high 13.450 on high bar in his final routine of the meet.
How it Happened
Floor
Ohio State began the meet with a 66.300 as a team on floor. Kameron Nelson led the team with a 13.650, nearly sticking his final pass. Kazuki Hayashi earned a 13.450, while Jacob Harmon and Caden Spencer each earned a 13.300. Jesse Pakele rounded out the Buckeyes’ showing with a 12.600.
Pommel Horse
The Buckeyes totaled 61.400 on pommel horse. Kristian Grahovski led the way with a 12.900 and Luke Smigliani earned a 12.800. Logan McGlynn (12.250), Parker Thackston (12.050) and Tyler Rockwood (11.400) capped the OSU lineup.
Rings
Ohio State totaled 66.950 as a team on rings, a season-best. Donovan Hewitt had the second-highest score in the meet with a 14.100. Grahovski got a 13.950 in his collegiate debut on rings, while Nelson earned a 13.550. Tyler Rockwood and Arthur Ashton wrapped up OSU’s rotation with a 13.050 and a 12.800, respectively.
Vault
The Buckeyes had the five best vaults of the competition to earn a season-best 72.250 as a team. Nelson’s season-best 14.650 led the way, followed by Hewitt’s season-best 14.500. Hayashi earned a 14.450 with the stick. Spencer (14.350) and Harmon (14.300) rounded out the OSU lineup.
Parallel Bars
Ohio State earned the second-highest team score of the season on parallel bars, a 66.900. Rockwood led the Buckeyes with a 13.800, closely followed by Jakob Murray tying his season-best and Hayashi tallying a season-best – both at 13.750. Spencer earned a 13.150 and Nelson stuck his dismount to earn a 12.450.
High Bar
The Buckeyes tied their season-best 67.200 on high bar. Spencer led the group with a 13.750, while Hayashi’s 13.650 in the anchor spot clinched the team win for the meet. Rockwood earned a personal-best 13.450 and Hewitt had his season-best (13.150) with a stuck dismount. Grahovski rounded out the Buckeyes’ rotation with a 13.200.
What They Said
Head Coach Rustam Sharipov: “After starting off very rough on the first couple events, we were able to keep the goal at hand and start the comeback serge, overcoming nearly an eight-point deficit to finish our last three events strong. I’m proud of the team for stepping up and keeping their focus until the last routine. We’ll get back into the gym and work hard at cleaning up our routines and landings along with figuring out a game plan on starting the meet faster.”
Up Next
Ohio State will send select student-athletes to compete at the Winter Cup from Feb. 23-25 in Louisville, Ky.
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