2022 Season Preview
Heading into the 2021 season, Stanford looked to be the clear favorites to take the NCAA title. That narrative was quickly put to bed as the season got off to a rocky start for the Cardinal. COVID impacts were unequally distributed across the country, with the defending champs getting the worst of it. A late start to the season, unfilled lineups, and more, seemingly opened up a clear shot at the title for the rest of the country. The return of Brody Malone and the rest of the Stanford stars by the time championships rolled around was enough to push Thom Glielmi’s team over the edge to capture yet another title.
What’s the same heading into 2022? Stanford remains a powerhouse. With more accommodating health and safety protocols, the return of Olympian and World Medalist, Brody Malone, and COVID opt outs back in the lineup, the Cardinal should pick up right where they left off. Michigan is still going to challenge them, however, with Cameron Bock and Paul Juda returning for another season.
What’s new in 2022? With 2021 unfortunately being Iowa and Minnesota’s final seasons as NCAA teams, 2022 will mark their first venture into GymACT competition. Arizona State has dominated the conference for years with Washington at their tail, but the addition of two more teams vying for the top spot will surely shake things up.
Highlighted below is what fans should expect from teams and how each plans to build on last season’s successes. Our rankings are based on an average of those submitted by four CGA contributors:
Victor Vazquez (Arizona State gymnast)
Ben Cooperman (former Penn State gymnast)
Bailey Perez (former Stanford gymnast)
Max Soifer (former Washington gymnast)
*Please note that 2021 finishes are based on where team’s finished in their respective associations (NCAA or GymACT) based on roadtonationals.com data.
NCAA
Stanford
Key Losses: Trevor DiGerolamo
Key Additions: Taylor Burkhart, Khoi Young, Nick Kuebler, Ian Lasic-Ellis, Luke McFarland, and Mark Berlaga.
2021 Finish: 1st
Stanford enters the 2022 season poised to three-peat as NCAA Champions. This year’s team will be even stronger than last year’s NCAA champions as the Cardinal welcome the top ranked freshman class and lost only one routine from last year’s NCAA Championship squad. Stanford will also welcome back All-American’s Bryan Perla and Thomas Lee, who both took last year off due to COVID-19.
On top of having won the NCAA Title in 2021, Stanford had more to celebrate this past summer and fall after international success from senior, Brody Malone, at the World Championships and Olympic Games. In addition, Head Coach Thom Glielmi was named the team USA Olympic Coach for Tokyo 2020. If that wasn’t enough to celebrate, after USA Championships, seven current or former Stanford gymnasts were named to the senior national team and three current Stanford gymnasts were named to the senior development team.
The power packed 2022 Stanford roster will undoubtedly put on a show throughout the season. This team is loaded with talent to the point that some gymnastics fans posit that it will be harder to make a Stanford lineup than to make the national team. While every event for the Cardinal will likely contend for the top spot in the rankings, Coach Glielmi is especially excited for his Parallel Bars team. As usual, Coach Gliemli keeps his prognosis of his team vague, stating that “we have a few potential sleeper routines, but you will have to come to the meets to find out”.
EVENT TO WATCH: “Keep an eye out for lineups with Blake Sun, Curran Phillips, Thomas Lee, and Colt Walker. All are planning to show big and dynamic routines this year.”
TEAM MVP: 2021 Olympian, Brody Malone is clearly the MVP of this team. However, “as gymnastics enthusiasts know, there are many well known athletes on Stanford’s roster who we can expect big things from year over year.”
Michigan
Key Losses: Anthony Tawfik, Thomas Paul, and Justin Murphy.
Key Additions: Crew Bold, Kyle Shuttle, Colin Stenger, Rithik Puri, Lais Najjar, David Wolma, and Logan McKeown.
2021 Finish: 3rd
It was an eventful offseason for the Wolverines. First came the announcement that Cameron Bock would return for one more season for the Maize and Blue, one of the premier all-arounders in the country. Second was the news that their Head Coach of 25 years, Kurt Golder, would be retiring. Golder’s career was illustrious, highlighted by four NCAA titles and six Big Ten trophies to go along. His presence will surely be missed.
Michigan will be led by Interim Head Coach, Yuan Xiao, for the 2022 season. The long time assistant will be eager to pick up right where this team left off as one of the best in the country. The goals are simple, “NCAA Champions, Big Ten Champions, and winners of academic team awards.” As far as the first goal goes, Stanford will be tough to beat, but Xiao’s roster may be one of the only in the country talented enough to challenge them. Concerning the Big Ten title, Michigan will surely be the team to beat as conference championships roll around.
While the aforementioned Bock, along with Paul Juda, catch most of the spotlight, Michigan is far deeper than most people think. They have eleven All-Americans from the 2021 season and with the influx of talent, even more could garner accolades in 2022.
EVENT TO WATCH: Xiao highlighted their final home meet as the premier event to look out for this season. “Penn State, Senior Night.”
TEAM MVP: “Paul Juda & Cameron Bock. Two of the best all-around gymnasts in the nation and both are senior national team members.”
Oklahoma
Key Losses: Gage Dyer and Matt Wenske.
Key Additions: Fuzzy Benas and Raydel Gamboa.
2021 Finish: 2nd
After a second place finish for their second NCAA Championships in a row, Oklahoma is coming into the 2022 season hungry for a win. When asked about goals for the season, Head Coach Mark Williams confidently stated, “the team is ready to put on a show and make a run for the NCAA Championship”.
With the loss of their floor and vault superstar, Gage Dyer, the Sooners will have some ground to make up for against the difficulty-packed Michigan and Stanford lineups. Luckily, the Sooners will have three powerhouse all-arounders ready to make up this deficit between Fuzzy Benas, Raydel Gamboa, and Senior National Team member, Vitaliy Guimaraes.
Although the Sooners face some stiff competition, you can never sell the OU team short. Year after year, Coach Williams puts together arguably the most consistent lineups in the country and he will be looking to do so again in their quest back to the top of the NCAA.
EVENT TO WATCH: Per Sooner tradition, Vault is an event to watch out for this season.
TEAM MVP: Coach Williams believes team captain, Vitaliy Guimaraes, will be the gymnast to look out for as “he is bringing senior expertise to the team in the all-around”.
Nebraska
Key Losses: Mitch Tyndall, Griffin Kehler, Evan Hymanson and Zach Peters.
Key Additions: Donte McKinney, Joey Pepe, Travis Wong, Chris Hiser, and A.J. Morgan.
2021 Finish: 4th
Most of the buzz this preseason has been around the top three ranked teams, but Nebraska undoubtedly has the chance to give them a run for their money with an experienced group of thirteen upperclassmen. Leading the way for this deep Nebraska roster will be senior, Khalil Jackson. After a few seasons ridden with injuries, Jackson will be back on the floor for the Huskers ready to make some serious contributions across the board.
In addition to their already deep lineups, the Huskers added four freshmen to the team, all of whom are expected to contribute according to Coach Chmelka. Furthermore, they secured a strong pick up from Minnesota transfer Donte McKinney, who is known for his high flying vault and high bar.
Although Nebraska is coming in at fourth in our rankings, they should not be counted out as a top contending team. Coach Chmelka and the Huskers are entering the season with big goals of “winning the NCAA title, the Big Ten title, to get as many All-Americans as possible, and to have fun!”
EVENT TO WATCH: Coach Chmelka believes they will be very solid on pommel horse, as well as parallel bars and high bar.
TEAM MVP: “Truthfully our team MVP will be the team. We will put together a solid lineup with the help of everyone!”
Penn State
Key Losses: Jack Baldwin, Alex Frack, Brennan Pantazis, and Parker Clayton
Key Additions: Derek Schlagenhauf, Josh Karnes, and Colin Wingrove
2021 Finish: 6th
After narrowly missing out on the super six at NCAA Championships in 2021, this young Penn State team is looking to come back with a vengeance this season. A top ranked sophomore class will need to step up to the plate in order for this to happen. The Nittany Lions will rely heavily on Matt Cormier and Michael Jaroh, their one-two punch, for scores on all six events.
The additions of Shlagenhauf and Karnes will help to mitigate some of the lineup spots vacated by last year’s seniors, Brennan Pantazis and Alex Frack, both of whom held important leadership roles and contributed significantly to team scores. Freshman, Josh Karnes, built himself a strong gymnastics resume as a perennial junior national team member and will be looked to as he utilizes his previous experience to contribute to Penn State’s team scores.
Head Coach Randy Jepson highlighted staying healthy as vital to team success this year and also pointed to the development of Michael Artlip. “...Artlip is a diamond in the making. He has increased his start values and gained confidence and could open some eyes this season.”
EVENT TO WATCH: “I wouldn’t say we have one event that is an outlier in terms of our performance capabilities but, instead that this team is sound on all six. We have had years where we were outstanding on rings or horse and then had a weaker event somewhere along the way. This year our success will be tied to us performing strong and steady across the board.”
TEAM MVP: “We have a solid group of all-around performers this year who will carry the load and provide much needed depth. Michael Jaroh, Matt Cormier, Ethan Dick, Michael Artlip, Andres Perez, Colin Wingrove, and Josh Karnes will be mainstays for us throughout the season. Additionally, we have very experienced multiple event performers in Eric Lung, Robbie Shamp, Nate Warren, Kaleb Booth, Chase Clingman, and Brady Yamamoto. We also expect solid performances out of specialists Nick Mock on pommel horse and parallel bars as well as from Josh Reinstein on rings.”
Illinois
Key Losses: Tommy Mistretta, Joel Diaz, Danny Graham, and Max Diab.
Key Additions: Yan Inhaber-Courchesne, Maksim Farkhadau, David Pochinka, and Ashton Anaya.
2021 Finish: 5th
Injuries were a huge issue for Illinois in 2021. The losses of Clay Stephens and Hamish Carter, amongst many others throughout the season, pushed Michael Fletcher and other members of the roster to step up to the next level. Considering all of the losses, Illinois had a great season; the highlight being Ian Skirkey’s National Champion pommel horse routine.
Getting healthy alone significantly raises this team’s ceiling in 2022. Justin Spring almost always finds a way to keep this program at the top of the Big Ten and there is no reason to think this season will be any different. Unfortunately, 17 of 20 members of the roster had COVID at some point in the preseason, hampering the team’s training and having a noticeable impact on start values. Illinois may come out of the gates slowly, but they will surely hit their stride as the season unfolds.
EVENT TO WATCH: “Pommel Horse. Good guys and big start values! Reigning National Champion Ian Skirkey should be competing a 16.7 start value!”
TEAM MVP: “This team needs everyone to step up and do their job. We have five to six all-arounders that can equally lead and do amazing things for this team this year. We need them to do that if we are going to challenge the top teams this year!”
Ohio State
Key Losses: Max Andryushchenko, Sean Neighbarger, Josh Seltzer, and Paul Burney.
Key Additions: Arthur Ashton and Matthew Piekarksi.
2021 Finish: 7th
Struggles on high bar kept Ohio State from achieving their full potential in 2021. They finished the season eleventh in the country on that event, their only rank outside of the top six. This roster is filled with talent and if they can pick up the slack on last year’s weakness, they may prove much better than their current ranking indicates.
Justin Ah Chow, who had a fantastic freshman season, should return to the lineup after missing much of last year with an injury. He will join Jesse Tyndall, who had a breakout 2021 campaign, as the backbone of this team. Tyndall achieved All-American status in the all-around and will be looking to continue on his success from a season ago. There are four to five other athletes on this roster who can join these two as standouts; they will determine just how far the Buckeyes can go.
Head Coach Rustam Sharipov has been pleased with his team’s training thus far. “I am happy with Summer and Fall practices. We had a majority of the team stay all Summer and learn the new code of points.” And as always, the goals stay the same. “Contender for Big Ten team title and top three at NCAA Championships.”
EVENT TO WATCH: “Floor, vault, parallel bars and high bar. Why? Some guy’s start values are much higher than last year.”
TEAM MVP: “We are not focusing on MVP. If each guy will do his job, he will be MVP.”
Navy
Key Losses: Jake Carlson, Max Gerber, Travis Keller, Ryan McVay, and David Toussaint.
Key Additions: R.J. Spears, Riley Rose, Vishal Mandava, Sebastian Gordon, Isaiah Drake, and William Champagne.
2021 Finish: 9th
The Kip Simons era at Navy is well under way and the expected success that comes along with having Simons as head coach is in full swing. Navy is coming off yet another season in which Army was defeated, the All-Academy championships trophy made its way to Annapolis, and the Midshipmen qualified as a team to the NCAA Championships. This same level of success is the goal for Navy this season. Coach Simons is taking a bit of a different approach this year, “In years past we have been more focused on ‘clean and mean’ sets, but this year we are going for a different strategy with stronger start values.”
This new “high risk, high reward” strategy comes amidst the loss of one of the strongest senior classes that Navy has had in years. For the first time in decades, Navy had an athlete, Ryan McVay, qualify to the senior USA championships. McVay’s absence this year will not go unnoticed. In addition, the losses in leadership and scoring potential from Max Gerber, Travis Keller, and David Toussaint will be felt. However, despite those major losses, Navy brought in a very strong freshmen class highlighted by the likes of former senior national team member, Isaiah Drake, and former junior national team member, Vishal Mandava. These two are likely to have a high impact on this year’s Navy squad.
EVENT TO WATCH: “Our high bar team will be high flying with multiple release moves per routine.”
TEAM MVP: No one person on the Navy squad is going to carry this team. In the words of Coach Simons, “We have 23 guys on the roster, and I expect all to contribute in some way to the success of our team this season. All members of NMG (Navy Men's Gymnastics) have a role and in order to be successful, each member will have to fulfill their role.”
California
Key Losses: None.
Key Additions: Landon Wu, Jasper Smith-Gordon, Tyler Shimizu, and Sean Shimizu.
2021 Finish: 8th
Cal is energetically entering the 2022 season, and looking to quickly beat their last season’s high of 392.055. This shouldn’t be too big of a challenge for the Golden Bears as they are returning their full 2021 roster. Senior, Caleb Rickard, will once again look to lead the way for the team with backup from 2021 ROTY, Noah Newfield. Although Rickard and Newfield will be greatly counted on, Cal’s four incoming freshmen are expected to make some exciting contributions to the team's lineups.
While the NCAA has quite the large spread of competitive teams this year, Coach Okada is working to execute on the nemesis of most, the pommel horse. Okada believes “with a healthy lineup, Cal has the potential to be one of the best pommel horse teams in the NCAA”. Aidan Li’s beautiful swing will prove to be an impactful score to their pommel squad throughout the season.
Cal will be looking to surge forward in the rankings and fight to earn themselves a spot in the NCAA team finals for the first time in several years.
EVENT TO WATCH: Pommel Horse.
TEAM MVP: “Caleb Rickard in his senior year is definitely an MVP to watch for. Along with 2021 ROTY Noah Newfeld.”
William & Mary
Key Losses: Cutter Fuget, Jordan Kula, and Ian Creelman.
Key Additions: Will Harrington, Sam Smith, Jonathan Irwin, and Zachary Patrick.
2021 Finish: 10th
Last season, William & Mary faced a whirlwind of events, from having their team cut in October of 2020 to having it reinstated again in March of 2021. While their second place ECAC finish in 2021 was impressive given this hectic series of events, they are eager to regain the conference title and earn themselves a spot in the NCAA Championships as a team in 2022.
After graduating eight of their seventeen man team, Coach Powell has strategically turned his team to an all-around focus. With some creative planning and division of team efforts, the Tribe are confident that they have well-rounded lineups heading into the season.
Although heavy emphasis has been placed on the all-around for W&M, Christian Marsh’s rings routine will be one to watch out for. Marsh was a 2021 NCAA finalist last year, and is looking to improve upon his results with an upgraded routine including a maltese push to planche and triple back dismount.
EVENT TO WATCH: “Parallel Bars looks to be a great event for us this year, with our upperclassmen leading the way. Sophomores Sam Lee, Ahmir Postell, and Alek Kuzmenchuk will bring some great underbar work, while freshmen, Will Harrington and Zachary Patrick, will add to the depth of this great lineup.”
TEAM MVP: “Aidan Cuy will be the all-around workhorse for the team. One of our team captains, he leads by example, putting in the work and competing with unflappable confidence”.
Air Force
Key Losses: Ethan Esval, Scott McMurray, Logan Omer, Zack Polen, Allen Shadan, Frankie Valentin, and Brian Waschak.
Key Additions: Patrick Hoopes, Erich Upton, and Bryan Woffinden.
2021 Finish: 11th
Entering year three of the Josh Loeser era, the Air Force academy is very much still in a rebuilding phase. A strong sophomore class highlighted by Garrett Braunton and Oliver Zavel will lead the charge for the Falcons. The losses of Allen Shadan, Frankie Valentin, and the rest of last year’s senior class will be felt as the incoming freshman class will need some development in order to achieve the scoring potential necessary to make up for those losses.
It seems as though Coach Loeser has an all-in philosophy when it comes to putting difficulty into routines. Over the last couple of seasons this has led to some struggles with consistency, but once this young Falcon team is able to put it all together, they will put up some big routines resulting in big scores.
One of the contests to look out for this season is the All-Academy Championships. Air Force will look to dethrone Navy, who has held the academy crown for the past few seasons. In order to do so, Coach Loeser will need to make sure that his team is prepared to go head-to-head with an increasingly strong Navy squad and an Army team that continues to grow in fire power.
EVENT TO WATCH: Floor, according to Assistant Coach Sergey Resnick. “We have a few big routines and passes that are looking consistent.”
TEAM MVP: “We have a few this year who we will rely on to step up. Garrett Braunton, Oliver Zavel, and Erich Upton will cycle through the all-around”
Army
Key Losses: Matthew Martin, Mitchell McHugh, Joseph Minus, Prakash Nigam, and Kiernan Reagan.
Key Additions: Gabe Almeida, Tucker Blanchard, Joseph Buselmeier, Hunter Mamawal, Noah Pace, and Zachary Perez.
2021 Finish: 12th
An up and down 2021 season for Army finished on a strong note with a season high 388.05 at conference championships. The Black Knights, however, missed out on a team berth to NCAA Championships. A bounce back year will hinge on the continued production of standout senior, Mathew Davis, and big performances from newcomers.
Assistant Coach Carmine Giglio was clear and concise when asked about goals for the upcoming season. “1. Beat Navy! 2. Beat Air Force. 3. Win the Conference Championship. 4. Win the All-Academy Championship. 5. Have an ECAC individual champion. 6. Have an NCAA individual All-American. 7. Qualify for the NCAA Team Championships.” Attaining these goals will rely heavily on a healthy Davis and big contributions from newcomers.
EVENT TO WATCH: “Parallel bars. We have a good amount of difficulty and a consistent hit percentage.”
TEAM MVP: The aforementioned Mathew Davis. “He is a very solid all-around athlete with the potential to be the ECAC all-around Champion and an NCAA all-around All-American.”
Springfield
Key Losses: Trevor Lamberton, Josh Miller, Nate Hughes, John Murphy, Colin Maberry, Jack Vollo, and John Rowbotham.
Key Additions: Ray Bridges, Matt Browne, Carter Cochardo, Andrae Butler, Noah Dhaliwal, Donovyn Diaz, Jaden Laubstein, and Felix Kriedemann.
2021 Finish: 13th
2021 ended on a high note for Springfield, tallying a season high 381.75 at ECAC Championships, but the ceiling for this program is much higher in 2022. Despite the losses of key contributors including all-arounder, Trevor Lamberton, this freshmen class can bring the roster back to full form and then some. Three top-25 recruits join the Pride for the 2022 season: Matt Browne, Noah Dhaliwal, and Ray Bridges.
Matt Davis has high expectations for his team this year. “We have some very determined gymnasts this season to continue to push this program higher with goals such as being in the top ten NCAA rankings as a team and to reach our ultimate goal of winning the ECAC Championships.” While this team comes in at number 13 in our rankings, it is certainly not out of the question for them to defy expectations and come closer to attaining their head coach’s goals. This is the most talented Springfield roster we have seen in years.
EVENT TO WATCH: “Parallel bars. Our team has been able to increase the difficulty of that event and it should be a strong team event for us this season because of new additions and returners to our lineup.”
TEAM MVP: “Dominic Ramalho continues to build on each season and is someone that has taken on more of a leadership role as well this year. He will have a great impact on our team on multiple events and will continue to achieve higher individual goals in the all-around this season.”
GymACT
Arizona State
Key Losses: Kiwan Watts, Anthony Mills, Austin Jones, Jeffrey Bittner, Esteban Montiel, Dalton Hopkins, and Jake Schroeder.
Key Additions: Justin Smith, Nicky Franz, Brandon Garcia, Rhys George, and Caden Peacock.
2021 Finish: 3rd
Arizona State has been the team to beat in the GymACT since its inception, however, 2022 could be the first year this status could be in question. The loss of the perennial team MVP, Kiwan Watts, along with the addition of Iowa and Minnesota to the conference present significant challenges for ASU. Despite the uphill climb, the Sun Devils seem poised to remain on top of the competition.
Head Coach Scott Barclay boasts a roster of 48 people, including a group of sophomores eager to prove themselves. Putting lineups together when dealing with this kind of variability can be a bit of a challenge but Barclay describes it as a good problem to have, “lots of hungry kids wanting to get out there and compete.” Barclay’s team will aim to have two 15 man rosters filled out, one competing at GymACT Nationals with the other heading to NAIGC Nationals. The former will be aiming for a 95+% hit ratio at the national event.
Former Air Force Head Coach, Jeff Robinson, has been added to the coaching staff as well. Robinson has years of experience and will provide a huge boost to the development of this robust roster.
EVENT TO WATCH: ASU has built the premier model for self funded teams and Barclay provided a different answer regarding what to watch for to highlight this. “Our own Sun Devil Classic will be a great event which has over 2,000 kids coming over a four day weekend and includes the Collegiate Sun Devil Classic meet. This year it will be all GymACT teams including the future Boise team. Arizona State, Rocky Mountain Pride, Georgia United, SoCal United, Washington & Iowa. Should be a great GymACT meet!”
TEAM MVP: “Hard to pin that down as it is yet to be determined, but keep your eye on second year Hunter Burnett out of California who has beefed his routines up quite a bit since last year. Also Team Captain, Mason McNeel, and Andrew Fincher will be strong contenders.”
Iowa
Key Losses: Bennet Huang.
Key Returners: Evan Davis, Zac Tiderman, and James Friedman.
2021 Finish: 2nd
Last season, Iowa faced the tragic news of their program being cut. This came as a shock for much of the gymnastics community as the Hawkeyes have a rich history of strong program culture and success. Fortunately, with the help of Iowa team members, they were able to join the GymACT and maintain their place in the collegiate gymnastics field. Team Captain, Evan Davis, paid homage to his fellow teammate Zac Tiderman for his involvement in keeping the Iowa program alive by stating, “Zac Tiderman is a MVP for pushing the team and making this whole GymACT team possible.”
With a smaller roster this season, Iowa has had to acclimate many team members back to the all-around. Although this season may come with challenges, the Hawkeyes will display many high level routines including Amari Sewell’s 5/2 vault that is “consistently being stuck in practice”.
Evan Davis has high expectations for his team this year stating, “the main team goal is to win GymACT Nationals”. Outside of the competition floor, the Hawkeyes are working to secure recruits for the coming seasons and ensure the longevity of the program.
EVENT TO WATCH: “Vault will be a huge event for us this year. We have 3 solid 5/’s and the rest of our guys have 2/1s so making line up will come down to those who stick their vault the most.”
TEAM MVP: Evan Davis will have a huge impact on how the team performs. He was the fifth place all-around finisher in the 2021 NCAA Championships earning himself All-American status. His experienced competitiveness and added upgrades will bring a lot to the table for the Hawkeyes.
Washington
Key Losses: Ben Bloom
Key Additions: Bradley Stroud and Xander Agate.
2021 Finish: 2nd
The last decade has been transformative for the Washington men’s gymnastics program. The team has undergone tremendous change and is the largest and strongest the program has ever been. Under the tutelage of Head Coach, Jeff Crockett, the Huskies look to dethrone the ASU Sun Devils who have held the top spot in the GymACT standings since the founding of the conference.
Over the past five or six seasons, the Huskies have been right on the heels of Scott Barclay’s Sun Devils. Last season, Washington managed to pull off their first upset win over ASU since 2006 with a victory at the GymACT West Championship. The Huskies will look to repeat last season’s upset throughout this season. However, without the scoring potential and leadership from Ben Bloom, the Huskies will have to make up some ground.
The freshmen class, according to Coach Crockett, is “stronger than ever”. The addition of former Region Two elite team members, Bradley Stroud and Xander Agate, should cover the spots that last year’s seniors left vacant. The strong freshmen class paired with leadership from upperclassmen, Oscar Hemmert, Perry Lightfoot, and Brody Lusk, will propel Washington throughout the year. This bodes well for Huskies as Arizona State lost their superstar Kiwan Watts to graduation. A healthy Washington team this year could pose quite a threat to the Sun Devil’s perennial dominance over the GymACT conference.
A routine from Washington that Coach Crockett says will stand out this year is Adam Kerwin’s parallel bars, which “could contend with some of the top parallel bar performances in the country”.
EVENT TO WATCH:“Higher start values combined with quality technique this year will make parallel bars an event to watch for the Huskies.”
TEAM MVP: Oscar Hemmert. “Oscar is poised to show that he is an all-around competitor this season. He is a well rounded gymnast with solid execution and is ready to show what he is truly capable of. He has also stepped up as a leader on the team this year.”
Minnesota
Key Losses: Shane Wiskus, Donte McKinney, and David Pochninka.
Key Additions: Kellen Ryan, Ben Hayes, Hayden Paravecino, Yaroslav Pochinka, and George Khoury.
2021 Finish: 1st
The 2022 Golden Gophers will look vastly different from the team we saw in 2021. In their final season as an NCAA team, Minnesota rallied to place fifth in the country behind yet another standout performance from Shane Wiskus. Wiskus took second in the all-around in a competition that came down to the wire in Maturi Pavilion. The Minnesota native went on to represent the United States at the Toyko 2020 Olympics, a bittersweet final representation for a program that was unjustly left to fend for themselves.
Head Coach Mike Burns remains at the helm as he looks to successfully transition the program to the GymACT conference. Losing Shane Wiskus is painful enough, but more losses on top of that will be a challenge to replace. Fortunately, GymACT rules allow for roster flexibility, allowing for the return of Yaroslav Pochinka, for example. Burns will have to get creative to compete with some of the top teams in the conference, but Minnesota will certainly be a team to watch as they reinvent themselves as a GymACT program.
EVENT TO WATCH: “I feel confident in our team’s ability on floor exercise and still rings. Solid start values on both events and routines have been looking quite solid as we prepare for the season. Pommel horse has the potential to be a solid event for us as well - but it is pommel horse!”
TEAM MVP: “Our team MVP could be one of two guys this year - freshman, Kellen Ryan will be heavily counted on as our top all-arounder and super-senior Yaro Pochinka (who is in his first year of medical school) could provide the necessary fire power on three events. At the end of the day though, every member of our entire roster this year are MVPs in my mind as we transition from NCAA to GymACT.”
UIC
Key Losses: Sam Montague and James Strevey.
Key Additions: Avery Walwyn.
2021 Finish: 6th
UIC wrapped up their 2021 season with a third place finish and a 350.600 at the GymACT Nationals. The Flames are entering the season ready to face the challenges of losing their star all-arounder, Sam Montague, and the addition of Minnesota and Iowa to GymACT. UIC will be looking to clean up their pommel horse and rings lineups to maintain their competitiveness in a field of strong competitors.
Rocky Mountain
Key Losses: Tyson Glover and Tyler McFarland.
Key Additions: Nathan Yearous.
2021 Finish: 5th
The Rocky Mountain Pride enter the 2022 season under the leadership of first year head coach, Tabor Cowen. In their third season within the GymACT conference, coach Cowen has set goals to “make GymACT nationals, continue developing a winning culture, and for the Pride to present themselves respectfully on the competition floor.”
Although the pride must overcome the losses of Tyson Glover and Tyler McFarland, Coach Cowen is confident in the freshmen class’s ability to keep a solid standard of gymnastics expected out of the Pride. Improvements from Ryan Curran and the addition of Nathan Yearous are likely to carry Rocky Mountain this coming season.
EVENT TO WATCH: Vault. “We have some BIG vaults this year.”
TEAM MVP: Coach Cowen is putting a lot of weight on the shoulders of Freshman, Nathan Yearous. He is expected to be in all six lineups immediately and the coaching staff is looking at Yearous to be a leader now and in the future for the Pride.
Temple
Key Losses: Nicolino DiBattista and Taden Thurber.
Key Additions: Edan Dubnikov, Ben Smith, and Adam Schaefer.
2021 Finish: 8th
Temple is coming off a strong season where they scored a season high 344.00 to wrap things up at GymACT Nationals. Unfortunately, they were only able to compete three times due to the limiting circumstances brought forth by the pandemic. 2022 offers a far more robust schedule for the Owls and a chance to build on momentum as the season unfolds.
The pandemic is still having an impact on the team’s training capabilities, but Head Coach Jesse Kitzen-Ableson has the roster slowly ramping back to top form. Kitzen-Ableson expressed excitement surrounding the upcoming year and mapped out big objectives. “Some goals that we have for this season are to hit 5/5 on pommel horse in a meet, stick 8 - 12 dismounts in a meet, complete a meet without a fall, and have Temple representation at the USAG Collegiate All-Star meet.”
EVENT TO WATCH: “On vault we have the chance of competing a lineup of all 4.0+ start values. We have not been able to do this since we had varsity members on the squad.”
TEAM MVP: “Jacob Biller has shown excellent consistency on his four events, he is already in routine hitting mode and ready for season!”
SC United
Key Losses: William Pearce, MIchael Palumbo, Ely Khatib, and Zachary Fox.
Key Additions: Mateo Austin, Neel Lyer, Zach Johnson, and Alex Kotnic.
2021 Finish: 7th
In the 2021 season, SC United finished in sixth place at the GymACT Nationals, and garnered a second place finish in the all-around from William Pearce. Although they finished sixth at Nationals, they were able to post a more impressive 357.550 earlier in the season. SC United will be needing their underclassmen to step up to the plate for the loss of Pearce in the 2022 season.
Northern Illinois
Key Losses: Joe Bajek and Dylan Bohn.
Key Additions: Zach McCue and Jerid Envard.
2021 Finish: 9th
Moving into their third season, Northern Illinois continues to grow. Without any major losses, NIU will be adding five newcomers. The trio of David Dortmund, Micah Puckett, and Zach Cipra are poised to lead NIU throughout this season. As usual, David Dortmund will lead the charge in the all-around for NIU, but look to freshmen Zach McCue and Jerid Enyard to put up key routines for the Huskies.
Having Cipra back this year as he embarks on a master’s degree program will be a huge boost in leadership for Coach Josh Levin’s team. Under Coach Levin and with leadership from Cipra, the Huskies have goals of scoring over 350 and having an all-arounder place top three at GymACT Nationals.
EVENT TO WATCH: Coach Levin says that surprisingly, pommel horse is the event to watch for the Huskies this year. “While it’s not everyone’s favorite, we have a lot of talent there.”
TEAM MVP: “David Dortmund has always been our strongest all-around performer.”
KC United
Key Losses: Noah Spencer and Issac Shultz.
Key Additions: Logan Berthelson and Asa Thompson.
2021 Finish: 10th
KC United opened the 2021 season with a bang, scoring a season high 322.90. Things got more challenging from there and they were unable to get back above the 300 mark for the rest of the season. The roster has now slimmed down to just four members and they will have to work hard in the increasingly competitive GymACT to keep KC United in the conversation.
Georgia United
Key Losses: Adam Hutchinson.
Key Additions: Zach English, Aiden Whitehead, Jeremiah Holmes, and James Garner.
2021 Finish: 11th
Georgia United made its debut in the GymACT in 2021 while being led by coach David Pomerantz and Tyler Green. With a limited five man roster, they scored a season high of 239.2. However, with the addition of four incoming gymnasts, they will be looking to drastically improve upon this score in the 2022 season, and develop a team culture that will last for years to come.
NY Alliance
Key Losses: Craig Jasin.
Key Additions: Adam Burger, Ryder Jencik, and Ethan Rio.
2021 Finish: 12th
A four-man team in 2021 proved to be a challenge for the New York Alliance, however, the team has grown to six members for the 2022 season. The loss of Craig Jasin was replaced over the summer with Adam Burger, Ryder Jencik, and Ethan Rio, The additional members should provide the depth necessary for the NYA to exceed last year’s season high score of 221.80. With the GymACT growing and increasing in competitiveness, the NYA will have to make some significant adjustments and improvements in order to compete with the stronger GymACT programs.
NOTE: Programs where “Event to Watch” and “Team MVP” are unaccounted for, were unable to be contacted/did not respond for comment.
Contributions from Bailey Perez, Max Soifer, and Ben Cooperman.