ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Less than 24 hours after collecting the first USAG Collegiate Team Championship since 2008, the Navy gymnastics program turned in another round of top-flight performances on Saturday in the event finals of the two-day championship. With 10 gymnasts qualified for and entered into event finals, the Mids came away with 10 podium-worthy results, including victories for Lucas Beltran (Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas) on the floor exercise and David Toussaint (So., Warren, Ohio) on the pommel horse.
 
"Today was great," exclaimed head coach Kip Simons. "The event finals are all about the individual performance. Competing on back-to-back days is difficult, but when I look back on today, this was about preparing for day two of the NCAA Championships. We had guys out there today in the finals that I expect to be able to advance to the second day of the NCAAs. It's going to be the exact same format where they'll have to go two days in a row. We missed one routine out of the 12, so overall this was another great Navy Gymnastics day. We just keep getting better!"
 
Beltran started collecting gold early for the Mids on Saturday as he dominated the nine-man field on the floor exercise with a score of 14.05. Kiwan Watts of Arizona State came in second with a 13.8 before Frank Bradley (Jr., McLean, Va.) settled in third place with a 13.5-point result.
 
Toussaint made it back-to-back event titles for Navy as he cleared his competitors with ease courtesy of a crisp 14.05 routine on the pommel horse. The next closest finisher, Arizona State's Kirk Malm, was 1.05 points back with a 13.0. Freshman Dan Clark (Avon, Mass.) joined his teammate on the podium with a score of 12.9 that was good for a fourth-place tie.
 
The first half of Saturday's championship closed out with hardware for the rings being doled out. In a competitive event, Ryan Orce (Jr., Gainesville, Fla.) was edged out by Air Force's Ethan Esval for the title, 13.95 to 13.75. Josh Williams (Fr., Cypress, Texas) made it two Mids in the top-four with his 13.4.
 
After the medals were given out for the opening three apparatus, the second half began with Bradley and Beltran going back-to-back on the vault with nearly identical 14.5 and 14.45 scores. The junior duo placed second and third, respectively.
 
Navy's final two podium finishes came on the high bar as both Cash Buske (Fr., Madison, Wisc.) and Max Gerber (So., Dix Hills, N.Y.) placed in the top-six. Buske led the way as he was credited with 12.6 points to come in second. Gerber was four spots back in sixth with a 11.1 score.
 
Both Dhiren Lutchman (Fr., Beltsville, Md.) and Ryan McVay (So., Roseville, Calif.) competed on the parallel bars, but were unable to break into the top-six. Lutchman scored a 12.2, while McVay posted a 12.05.
 
The program's haul of 10 medals on Saturday surpassed the 2018 team, who earned seven top-six results at the USAG meet in Colorado Springs.
 
After the meet, the Navy coaching staff of Kip Simons, Craig Holt and Colin Payne were bestowed with the USAG Varsity Coach and Co-Assistant Coach of the Year honors.
 
Next up for Navy will be action at the ECAC Championships on Saturday, April 6 in Springfield, Mass. First touch at the conference championship is set for 2 p.m. at the Pride's Blake Arena. The Mids are the defending champions of the ECAC having scored 405.5 points last year in Annapolis.