Air Force Academy
Rocky Mountain Open
Falcons Place Third at Rocky Mountain Open
1/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Jan. 16, 2010
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - Highlighted by numerous top-10 finishes, the Air Force men's gymnastics team posted its best season-opening score to date at the annual Rocky Mountain Open on Saturday, Jan. 16, at the Academy's Cadet West Gym. In front of a near-capacity crowd, the Falcons tallied a score of 325.850 to place third in the five-team event.
In his collegiate debut, freshman James Okamoto earned the Falcons' best placement of the night, as he placed fourth on the pommel horse with a score of 14.050. Just one meet into the season, Okamoto recorded the second-best pommel score in Academy history and joined sophomore Jacob Houder as the only Falcon to clear the 14-point mark in that event.
Junior Nash Mills was the Falcons' top finisher on a pair of events, leading to a sixth-place finish in the all-around (80.450). Mills tied for fifth on the vault with a score of 15.700, while placing sixth on the parallel bars at 13.950. His vault score, a personal best, is the third-best score in Academy history.
Air Force was well represented in the top-10 of the floor exercise, accounting for four spots. Freshman Tory Brown led the squad with a seventh-place score of 14.150, a mark that is already on the program's top-20 list. Junior Aaron Zaiser (eighth, 14.050), freshman Travis Langham (ninth, 13.650) and sophomore Joel Uptmor (10th, 13.600) helped Air Force tie with Oklahoma for the most gymnasts to finish within the top-10 of that event.
Uptmor was the top-finishing Falcon on the high bar, placing 14th with a score of 12.400, while sophomore Devin Menefee paced the Falcons on the still rings, as he scored a 13.700 to place ninth.
In addition to their top-10 marks on the floor exercise, Uptmor and Langham joined Mills as some of the vault's top 10 finishers, as the duo posted matching marks 15.200 to tie for 10th. In his first collegiate meet, Langham moved into a tie for 10th on the program's all-time scoring list for that event. The Falcons also earned a top-10 placement from sophomore Chase Nobles, who scored a 13.200 to finish eighth on the pommel horse.
Oklahoma won its 11th consecutive Rocky Mountain Open title behind a combined score of 347.400, while Nebraska placed second with a score of 337.050. Following Air Force's third-place score of 325.850 was Arizona State (319.400) and a small squad from Washington (277.950).
The Sooners claimed five of the six individual event titles, highlighted by freshman Jake Dalton's first-place scores on the vault (16.250), parallel bars (14.900) and high bar (14.800). In addition to his three event titles, Dalton won the all-around with a score of 87.500. Junior Steven Legendre tallied a 15.950 to win the floor exercise, while freshman Alex Naddour scored a 15.200 to win the pommel horse. Nebraska junior Anthony Ingrelli broke up the Oklahoma stranglehold on the top spot of the podium, as he scored a 14.650 to place first in the still rings.
Air Force will be off from competition until Saturday, Jan. 30, when it travels to Minneapolis, Minn., for a tri-meet with Minnesota and Nebraska.
Players Mentioned
