Air Force Finishes Fourth at Rocky Mountain Open

Jan. 13, 2018

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. -- The 11th-ranked Air Force men's gymnastics team opened the 2018 season with a fourth-place finish at its annual Rocky Mountain Open on Saturday, Jan. 13. Senior Fletcher Braunton paced the Falcons with a runner-up finish on the still rings -- one of 12 top-10 placements for the squad.

Braunton registered a score of 14.650 -- the third-highest mark in Academy history -- to finish second on the rings and lead Air Force to a trio of top-10 marks on that event. Classmate Michael Graft recorded a 13.800 to tie for seventh on the rings, while freshman Frankie Valentin scored a 13.750 to tie for ninth.

Graft added two additional top-10 marks on the night, as he led the team on the vault (fourth, 14.350) and tied for sixth on the parallel bars (13.500). Valentin also earned another top-10 mark, scoring a team-leading mark of 13.750 to finish ninth on the floor exercise.

Freshman Allen Shadan was the Falcons' top finisher on the parallel bars (fourth tie, 13.600), while juniors Jonah Urlaub and Lukas Texeira paced the squad on the pommel horse (sixth, 12.800) and high bar (fourth tie, 13.650), respectively.

Urlaub also finished among the top-10 on the parallel bars (seventh, 13.450), while junior Eric Klein tied for seventh on the vault (14.200) and freshman Zach Polen finished 10th on the high bar (13.100).

Air Force registered a season-opening score of 389.950 to finish fourth in the six-team meet. Nebraska, ranked sixth in the preseason poll, won the Rocky Mountain Open with a team total of 407.700, while third-ranked Ohio State finished second with a score of 403.450 and No. 15 Arizona State scored a 390.950 to round out the top three. The 5280 Gymnastics Club in Denver finished fifth with a score of 375.000, while 18th-ranked Washington completed the field with a sixth-place score of 370.600. Members of the U.S. Olympic Training Center also competed at the meet (386.450), but did not count in the team or individual standings.

Air Force remains at home next weekend, as it hosts preseason favorite Oklahoma on Saturday, Jan. 20.

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