Jacob Houder Named Men's Gymnastics MVP
4/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
April 30, 2009
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - The Air Force men's gymnastics program handed out its 2009 team awards at the annual end-of-season banquet earlier this evening (April 30). Jacob Houder was the top award winner, earning the Most Valuable Player award, as well as the Freshman of the Year honor. In addition, three other Falcons were honored by head coach Kip Simons and assistant coach Brett McClure.
The native of Pinehurst, Texas, became the first freshman in the 53-year history of the Falcons' program to earn the program's highest honor.
Houder had a stellar rookie campaign, en route to his MVP award. In addition to setting an Academy record on the pommel horse at 14.200, Houder earned a pair of USAG All-America accolades and a selection to the NCAA Championships. He posted the Falcons' highest scores of the season on the pommel horse, parallel bars and high bar, while claiming three event titles on the parallel bars and one on the pommel horse. Even after just one season, Houder's name already dots the Falcons' all-time scoring list. He has at least a share of eight of the nine highest marks in program history on the pommel horse. Houder also holds a share of the fifth-best high bar mark and sixth-best parallel bars score in Air Force history.
Sophomore Nash Mills (Coto De Caza, Calif.), who competed in just one meet as a freshman, was the recipient of the Most Improved Award after becoming a strong threat for the Falcons in the all-around. Mills earned an invitation to the NCAA Championships, where he finished 11th in the qualifier. The MPSF Gymnast of the Week on Feb. 2, Mills collected three all-around titles, as well as two first-place scores on the parallel bars and a winning mark on the high bar. His career-best all-around score of 85.300 is tied for the eighth-highest total in program history, while he has also moved into the program's top-10 scores on the pommel horse (10th), vault (fifth), parallel bars (sixth) and high bar (fifth).
Sophomore Derek Kvedar (Lynnfield, Mass.) and freshman Travis Myers (Woodland Park, Colo.) shared the Hardest Worker Award for their training and dedication in the gym each and every day. Injuries have hampered Kvedar, who spent the season in and out of the Air Force lineup, but Simons expects him to be a benefit to the rotation once he is completely healthy. Simons also expects great things from Myers, who brings a strong work ethic to the gym. The Falcons' coach believes that Myers is hitting his stride and looks forward to the day that he raises his hand to the judge in competition.
Players Mentioned
