Air Force Academy
NCAA National Qualifier
Air Force Concludes 2009 Season at National Championships
4/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
April 16, 2009
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The 15th-ranked Air Force men's gymnastics team concluded the 2009 season on Thursday, April 16, as five members of the squad competed at the NCAA National Collegiate Gymnastics Championships in Minneapolis, Minn. Sophomore Aaron Zaiser paced the club, tying for 18th on the floor exercise and picking up the team's highest mark on the vault.
In the first national qualifying session, held this afternoon, sophomore Nash Mills picked up an 11th-place finish in the all-around. Mills' best event finish came on the parallel bars, as he scored a 13.500 to place 27th. He scored a 13.600 on the floor exercise, 12.550 on the pommel horse, 13.500 on the still rings, 14.250 on the vault and 11.600 on the high bar.
Individually, Zaiser paced the Falcons with an 18th-place finish on the floor exercise behind a score of 14.750. That is the sophomore's second-best total of the season on the floor and the eighth-best score in Academy history. Zaiser also competed on the vault, placing 27th with a tally of 15.100. That score was the highest of the day by any member of the Air Force team.
Freshman Jacob Houder scored a 13.600 on the pommel horse to finish 22nd. Houder, already the Academy record holder on that event, matched the seventh-best score in program history. Senior Jake Schonig closed out his successful collegiate career with a tally of 13.200 on the still rings.
In the evening session of the national qualifier, senior Josiah Loeser tallied a score of 13.650 to place 36th in the still rings, while freshman Devin Menefee posted a score of 14.300 on the vault to place 39th in his national debut.
Players Mentioned
