WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Navy men's gymnastics team wrapped up its first weekend of 2020 competition with nine athletes in action in the event finals of the West Point Open. Qualified for and competing in three event finals
David Toussaint (Jr., Warren, Ohio) led the Mids in a night in which seven of those gymnasts walked away with medals at Christl Arena. Individually, Toussaint won the floor exercise title, in addition to finishing on the podium for the pommel horse and parallel bars events.
"I'm really proud of all the guys tonight," remarked head coach
Kip Simons. "We had so many strong individual performances. Going back-to-back nights this early in the season is challenging, but our guys gutted it out. I expect this to be another strong season as long as we continue to do the right work."
Toussaint started off his standout night as one of three Mids performing in the finals of the floor exercise. After finishing second in last night's team event he came back on Saturday and turned in a score of 14.25 to rank first overall in the field of eight gymnasts.
Connor Van Loo (Fr., Freeland, Mich.) backed up his strong opening night routine with another high-level effort in the finals with a 12.8 score, good for fourth place.
Cian McConnell (Sr., Houston, Texas) finished seventh with an 11.45 score.
Next up, Navy's pommel horse lineup was well represented with three gymnasts in their respective event final.
Ryan Orce (Sr., Gainesville, Fla.) led the trio with a second-place finish of 14.1. He trailed just Penn State's Stephen Nedoroscik and his 14.8.
Jake Carlson (Jr., Lakeville, Mass.) also finished near the top of the podium as he came in third with a score of 13.55. Toussaint made it three Mids in the top-five as he placed fifth at 12.8.
The rings saw two Mids in action on Saturday night,
Dhiren Lutchman (So., Beltsville, Md.) and
Nehemiah Baker (So., Oak Ridge, N.C.). Lutchman was the top finisher of the pair with a fifth-place result courtesy of his 12.45 score. Baker was two positions back in seventh with a 11.5 effort.
The fourth final of the night was the vault. Though only one Mid,
Frank Bradley (Sr., McLean, Va.), advanced to Saturday night's action, he left his mark with one of the best vaults of his four-year career, a 14.05. Including Friday's 14.25 score, Bradley had only surpassed the 14.0-mark four times before tonight. He was edged out of the event title by Arizona State's Anthony Mills, who posted a 14.1. Bradley tied with Penn State's Brayden Borromeo in second place.
In his third and final individual event of the night, Toussaint was the lone Midshipmen in the finals of the parallel bars apparatus. One night after his first competitive collegiate p-bar routine, Toussaint placed fifth on Saturday with a score of 12.45. He missed a top-three standing by just 0.15 points.
Navy closed out its night at West Point with a pair of gymnasts in the high bar finals. The duo of
Cash Buske (So., Madison, Wisc.) and Orce finished third and fourth, respectively with 13.7 and 13.05 results. Buske challenged for first place as Penn State's Alex Frack turned in a 13.95 score to earn the event title.
Navy will continue its early-season action with its home opener, the 2020 Navy Open next Saturday, Jan. 18. The multi-team competition in Macdonough Hall begins at 2 p.m.
