Air Force Academy
NCAA Team & Event Finals
Three Falcons Earn All-America Honors at NCAA Championships
4/16/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
April 16, 2016
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Highlighted by a runner-up finish on the still rings from senior Denis Aurelius, three members of the Air Force men's gymnastics team earned All-America distinction at the NCAA Championships, which concluded this evening (April 16) in Columbus, Ohio. Aurelius, sophomore Arinn Wade and junior Tim Wang all earned podium finishes at Ohio State's St. John Arena -- marking the first time in program history that Air Force has accounted for more than one All-American in a single year.
Aurelius, who grew up just outside of Columbus, was the first competitor on the still rings. Scoring a 15.300 -- his second-highest score of the season and the third-highest of his career -- Aurelius held the overall lead for the next 42 performances, before Stanford's Dennis Zaremski edged him on the night's final routine. Recording the Falcons' best individual finish at the NCAA Championships, Aurelius is the third gymnast in program history to earn All-America distinction on the still rings, joining Greg Stine (2008) and Joel Miller (1992).
Wade and Wang became the first Academy teammates to earn All-America honors on the same event, as they both placed within the top-eight of their signature event -- the pommel horse. Wade scored a 15.200 -- his second-highest score of the season -- to tie with Illinois' Logan Bradley for fourth, while Wang reached the 15-point mark for the fifth time in seven meets to finish seventh (15.000).
Wade's fourth-place finish equals the best pommel horse placement by an Air Force gymnast, as he matched Wang's fourth-place mark from 2014. With his second top-eight finish in three years, Wang became the first Academy gymnast to ever capture multiple All-America honors in the same event and just the second to earn more than one award in a career (Stine, still rings and all-around, 2008).
With the addition of Aurelius and Wade to the Falcons' all-time list of All-Americans, Air Force has had 11 individuals earn All-America honors a total of 13 times.
Junior Chase Cannon earned a top-10 finish on the high bar, as he garnered a 14.700 to tie for 10th with Penn State's Leroy Clarke and Minnesota's Jalon Stephens. Freshman Jake Stanley also competed in the individual event finals tonight, scoring a 13.700 on the parallel bars to tie for 32nd with Penn State's Franz Card and Iowa's Matthew Loochtan.
Players Mentioned
