By Jess Westendorf
Over the weekend, the Iowa men’s gymnastics team traveled to Champaign, Illinois, to take a shot at the Big Ten Championship.
April 7
Iowa fell short, placing sixth with a 402.150 during the team round.“The one thing I will take away from this is we lost as a team today,” head coach JD Reive said in a release. “We didn’t split off. We didn’t splinter. They stayed together, and that’s says a lot about why we enjoy being on the floor with this group and why they’re able to do what they’re doing and help move the program forward.”
After the April 7 opening round, Iowa had five gymnasts qualify for the individual competition April 8.
Seniors Andrew Botto, and Cory Paterson, along with juniors Mark Springett, Elijah Parsells, and Dylan Ellsworth qualified to represent Iowa in the individual competition.
Botto competed in the all-around on April 7 and placed 10th with a score of 76.950, as well as scoring a 14.300 on rings to give him a tie for the runner-up finish.
Ellsworth took a spot on the podium for vault, tying for seventh place with a 14.600. Springett registered a 13.800 to finish 10th to help land him in the finals.
Paterson competed on high bar and placed fifth with a 14.400 to help Iowa end with a high-bar score of 65.150.
“It feels great to advance tomorrow,” Paterson said in a release. “I missed finals the last three years by half a 10th or more, so I accomplished one of my goals, and I’m excited to do another set tomorrow.”
Rounding out the Hawkeye’s was Parsells, who scored a season-best 14.050 on pommel horse and secured an eighth-place finish to push him to the finals.
April 8
Of the five gymnasts, Paterson led the way for the Hawkeyes, earning a silver medal on high bar, while three other gymnasts took the podium as well.
“Finals was awesome,” Reive said in a release. “I love the format. It’s really exciting to watch them go out and compete. They all killed it today. They did a wonderful job. They performed some of the best routines they’ve done all year. To have the four on the podium was excellent.”
Parsells and Springett started things off for Iowa on pommel horse and rings.
Parsells scored a 13.950 to tie for sixth on pommel horse and place him on the podium, while Springett competed on rings and notched a 14.050, giving him fifth place.
Botto finished in seventh place on the rings with a 13.775.
Ellsworth kicked things off in the second half on vault. He tallied a 14.300, earning him a fifth place finish.
Rounding things out was Paterson on the high bar, who scored a 14.350, securing him a silver medal as well as second team All Big-Ten.
“It feels amazing to get the silver after missing finals the past three years,” Paterson said in a release. “I’ve put a lot of work in over the year, and it showed tonight. I went out and hit one of my best sets of the year, so it feels great.”
Sophomore Jake Brodarzon was crowned the sportsmanship honoree for the Hawkeyes.
“We put forward one athlete every year for sportsmanship honoree,” Reive said in a release. “He was going to be the guy long before we had any injuries because he brings a ton of energy and really cares about the team and works toward it individually. He’s a wonderful teammate and student to have.”
The Hawkeyes will now focus on what they need to fix for the NCAA Championships on April 21-22 in West Point, New York.