COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Two days of action for the No. 9 Navy men's gymnastics team wrapped up on Saturday with the event finals of the 2024 USAG Collegiate Championships. Hosted by the U.S. Air Force Academy at the Cadet West Gym, the Mids had 10 different gymnasts competing 12 times over the six-event finals and came away with 10 top-six podium finishes. Suiting up in three separate events,
Matthew Petros (So., Broadview Heights, Ohio) led the way with three silver medal-winning performances.
Petros string of second-place results all came in quick succession in the second half of the meet. The sophomore's closest decision occurred on the vault as he was edged out of the event title by Greenville's Michael Avery, 14.45 to 14.40.
Isaiah Drake (Jr., Los Angeles, Calif.) added to a crowded top of the vault leaderboard as he tied for third place with William & Mary's Sam Lee with identical 14.35 scores.
Petros spearheaded another back-to-back result for Navy gymnasts on the parallel bars as he and his sophomore classmate
Danilo Viciana (Marietta, Ga.) finished in second and third place with respective marks of 13.3 and 13.1. Garrett Braunton of Air Force was the event champion with a 13.85 score.
The high bar was the scene of Petros' third and final silver medal-winning routine. Performing a 4.6-level routine, Petros was evaluated with the highest execution score at 8.85 and awarded a 0.1 stick bonus for an overall score of 13.55. He finished 0.25 points off of Braunton's victorious 13.8 mark.
Looping back to the first half of the event finals, Navy began the competition with a pair of All-USAG honorees for their work on the floor exercise. Sophomore
Colby Prince (Lithia, Fla.) garnered his first career postseason podium finish as he tied for third place with Garrett Kasiski of William & Mary with matching 13.3 scores.
Syam Buradagunta (Sr., Westborough, Mass.) earned the Mids' second spot on the podium with a sixth-place score of 13.15.
Ronan McQuillan (Sr., Katy, Texas) backed up his outstanding showing from Friday's team event with a 13.65 effort that ranked fourth overall in the field of nine gymnasts.
The rings event also saw two Mids secure medals for their performances. The junior class duo of
Riley Rose (Las Vegas, Nev.) and
William Champagne (Douglas, Mass.) turned in strong work on the rings as Rose tied for second place with Niko Greenly of William & Mary at 13.2, while Champagne was 0.2 points back in fifth with a 13.0 score.
Navy will continue postseason action two weeks from today when Springfield College hosts the 2024 ECAC Championship. The conference event is scheduled for a 1 p.m. first touch on Saturday, April 6 at Springfield's Blake Arena.
