No. 10 Falcons Close Out Regular Season at Ohio State
3/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
March 10, 2016
The 10th-ranked Air Force men's gymnastics team closes out the regular season tomorrow (March 11), when it travels to Columbus, Ohio, for a triangular meet with third-ranked Ohio State and top-ranked Oklahoma. The meet, which will have free admission and parking, is slated to begin at 5:00 p.m. (ET), inside St. John's Arena.
Meet Notes 08: at Ohio State, with Oklahoma 
MEET INFORMATION
Live stats will be available via OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
HOME SWEET HOME
Senior Denis Aurelius will return to his home state of Ohio for the final regular season meet of his collegiate career. Aurelius, who grew up an hour outside of Columbus in Plain City and graduated from Jonathan Adler High School, finished second in the state as a club gymnast for the OSU Boys Team.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Oklahoma and Ohio State are ranked first (449.417, three-score average) and third (442.483), respectively, in the national standings. The Sooners' roster features the national leader on the parallel bars in Yul Moldauer (15.833), while the Buckeyes boast a pair of top-ranked gymnasts in Alex Yoder (pommel horse, 15.65) and Sean Melton (still rings, 15.533).
CANNON TAKES OVER NATIONAL LEAD
Not only did Chase Cannon register an Academy-record high bar score of 15.750 to win the Falcons' triangular meet with fifth-ranked Illinois and ninth-ranked Cal by 0.600 points, but he also accounted for the best score in the nation this season. With that mark, Cannon claimed the nation's #1 spot outright, as his three-score average of 15.533 is 0.300 better than the rest of the collegiate competition.
AIR FORCE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Highlighted by top-three rankings for Chase Cannon and Tim Wang, four Falcons are listed among the nation's top 20 in a combined six events. Cannon currently leads the NCAA on the high bar with a 15.533 average, while Wang is tied for third on the pommel horse (15.417), seventh on the vault (15.250) and 19th on the still rings (14.900). Air Force has multiple top-20 gymnasts on the pommel horse and still rings, as Arinn Wade is tied for 11th on the horse (15.117) and Denis Aurelius is tied for 12th on the rings (15.083). Backed by #6 rankings on the floor exercise (73.850) and pommel horse (71.800), the Falcons are ranked among the top-10 in five of the six individual events.
FALCONS REGISTER SEASON-HIGH 433.450 IN HOME FINALE
Backed by the nation's highest individual high bar score, a team record on the still rings and two first-place finishes, Air Force registered the second-highest team score in program history (433.450) on March 6. Chase Cannon nabbed an Academy-record 15.750 on the high bar, while Tim Wang won the still rings (15.600) and led the Falcons to a program-best team score of 74.850. Overall, Air Force added nearly six points to its season-best mark to earn the program's highest total since 2014.
WHAT'S AHEAD FOR THE FALCONS
Air Force is off from competition next weekend, as they prepare for the post-season. The Falcons return to action on March 25-26, when they travel to Springfield, Mass., for the 2016 USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships
Players Mentioned
