FRISCO, Texas - Freshman
Isaiah Drake (Los Angeles, Calif.) represented the Navy gymnastics program this weekend at the 2022 Winter Cup. Competing as one of the nation's 38-best individual gymnasts in the United States, Drake posted the 15th-highest all-around score on Friday night before tallying a trio of top-20 individual event results on the final day of action on Sunday. In addition to his strong all-around outing on Friday, Drake's effort in Frisco was led by a standout two-day performance on the vault that ranked 10th in the field.
Friday's action at the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco saw Drake challenge a deep and talented list of Olympians, Oklahoma and Stanford gymnasts at the top of the standings. Ranking 15th overall with an all-around score of 78.05, he was second behind Penn States' Michael Jaroh, amongst collegiates from non-Oklahoma or Stanford schools. Drake's score consisted of a 13.15 on the floor exercise, a 12.7 on the pommel horse, a 12.15 on the rings, a 14.25 on the vault, a 12.85 on the parallel bars and a 12.95 on the high bar. His vault score tied him with the Olympic Performance Training Center's Robert Neff for 11th in the field. The plebe's second-best result was on the high bar as he placed 14th just behind Oklahoma's Colt Walker. Drake's final top-15 result on Friday came courtesy of his floor exercise routine that tied him with Ian Gunther of Stanford for 14th.
Oklahoma's Vitaly Guimares won the all-around championship with a score of 83.95 on Friday. He was one of five athletes named to the U.S. National Team based on performances at Winter Cup in the all-around.
On Sunday, the second day of the cumulatively-scored event, Drake tallied 74.15 points in his all-around performance. Across the six events, he posted an 11.55 on the floor exercise, an 11.75 on the pommel horse, an 11.95 on the rings, a 14.1 on the vault, a 13.3 on the parallel bars and an 11.5 on the high bar. His two-day total of 28.35 points on the vault ranked tenth overall, just 0.1 points behind Penn State's Matt Cormier. Drake's cumulative score of 26.15 on the parallel bars and 24.45 on the pommel horse helped him finish 18th and 20th respectively in the final standings.
Six individual event winners were recognized at the conclusion of Sunday's action. Stanford's Ian Lasic-Ellis won the floor exercise crown with a combined score of 27.7, while his fellow Stanford teammate Khoi Young won the pommel horse title with a 29.631 mark. Additionally, Alex Diab of the Olympic Performance Training Center placed first on the rings with a 29.59, Cypress Academy's Asher Hong was first on the vault with a 32.86 and Stanford's Curran Phillips was the parallel bars champion at 32.986. Oklahoma's Jack Freeman was the final champion awarded gold as he recorded a two-day total of 27.85 points on the high bar.
"I am proud of the effort Isaiah showed at the Winter Cup," remarked head coach
Kip Simons. "He had a great first day, but struggled a bit on day two. When you're in the arena with the nation's best as a plebe this is no room for errors. This was a great learning experience. We'll head back home and prepare for the rest of the regular season as the team gears up for postseason action in four weeks."
The Navy program will continue its brief mid-season break before stepping back into the gym for a head-to-head matchup at William & Mary on Saturday, March 12. The following weekend, the Mids will conclude its regular season slate on the road with a tri-meet at the United States Air Force Academy. In addition to the Mids and Falcons, the Illinois Fighting Illini will join the competition in Colorado Springs on March 19. Navy's postseason schedule will consist of the USAG Championships in Annapolis on March 25-26 and the ECAC Championship in Williamsburg on April 2. The 2022 NCAA Championships will be hosted in Norman, Oklahoma at the University of Oklahoma on April 15-16.
