Air Force Academy
NCAA National Qualifier
Chase Cannon Leads Falcons at NCAA Qualifier
4/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
April 15, 2016
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Highlighted by a runner-up finish on the high bar from junior Chase Cannon, the 10th-ranked Air Force men's gymnastics team accounted for at least one top-10 finish in five of six events during the NCAA National Qualifier, which concluded this evening (April 15) in Columbus, Ohio.
Cannon, who finished second on the high bar with a score of 15.050, led the Falcons to eight top-10 finishes – and four top-five marks – at Ohio State's St. John Arena. Sophomore Arinn Wade and junior Tim Wang finished fifth (15.150) and eighth (14.800), respectively, on the pommel horse, while Wang added a fifth-place total of 84.300 in the all-around and a sixth-place score of 14.600 on the floor exercise. Senior Denis Aurelius scored a 14.850 to tie for fifth on the still rings, while freshman Jake Stanley tied for 10th on the parallel bars with a 14.100.
Aurelius and Wang each accounted for one additional finish within the top half of the field, as Aurelius finished 12th on the floor exercise (14.400) and Wang tied for 14th on the parallel bars (13.900).
In addition to Stanley's finish on the parallel bars, three other members of the Falcons' freshmen class earned top-20 marks in their first National Qualifier. Eric Klein and Ryan Girouard tied for 20th on the floor exercise with matching scores of 13.950, while Klein earned the same placement on the high bar after scoring a 13.700. Classmate Christian Kalustian rounded out Air Force's top-20 finishers, as he scored a 14.550 to tie for 20th on the vault.
Overall, the Falcons registered a 412.650 to finish sixth. Second-ranked Stanford won the qualifier with a score of 434.350, while host and third-ranked Ohio State finished second with a 433.400. Sixth-ranked Illinois earned the final spot into tomorrow's finals with a score of 432.050, while No. 7 Iowa (423.250), No. 11 Michigan (422.150) and Air Force rounded out the team standings.
Based on their individual event finishes in tonight's qualifier, five Falcons advanced to the finals of the NCAA Championships. Aurelius (still rings), Cannon (high bar), Stanley (parallel bars), Wade (pommel horse) and Wang (pommel horse) will compete in their respective events tomorrow (April 16), beginning at 7:00 p.m. (ET) in Columbus.
Players Mentioned
