COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Navy gymnastics team concluded its action at the 2024 NCAA Championship on Saturday night with four Midshipmen competing as individuals in the event finals. Aiming to attain NCAA All-American status for the second consecutive season,
Isaiah Drake (Jr., Los Angeles, Calif.) led the program as he came within 0.3 points of finishing top-eight on the rings.
Matthew Petros (So., Broadview Heights, Ohio) was the most active Navy gymnast at Ohio State's Covelli Center as he raised his hand and put forth routines on the parallel bars and high bar.
Two more sophomores joined Petros in getting their first NCAA Championship Event Final experience as
Danilo Viciana (Marietta, Ga.) competed on the parallel bars, while
Colby Prince (Lithia, Fla.) turned in his final floor exercise effort of the season on Saturday.
"The guys stepped up big tonight," remarked head coach Kip Simons. "They hit all five routines and battled on the biggest stage in the country.
"I am so proud of their performance this weekend. Our program represented the U.S. Naval Academy with class and professionalism."
A 2023 NCAA All-American in the all-around competition, Drake showcased his abilities on the rings on Saturday night. Performing a routine with a 4.9-point level of difficulty, the junior earned an 8.733 execution score for an overall mark of 13.633 that tied him for 19th in the field with Penn State's Matthew Underhill. In a crowded top of the leaderboard, Drake's score was just 0.3 points shy of Stanford's Mark Berlaga, who claimed the final All-American position in eighth at 13.933. Additionally, he was only 0.333 points behind the three-way tie for fifth place between Stanford's Arun Chhetri, Nebraska's Asher Cohen and Michigan's Paul Juda, who all registered 13.966 scores.
The event finals for the parallel bars saw a pair of Mids in action. Proving that he belongs on the grandest stage, Viciana turned in an extremely clean p-bars routine as he was one of just seven of the total 43 gymnasts to compete on the apparatus to earn 9.0 or more points for execution. Starting with a 4.7-point level of difficult, the sophomore received 9.0 points for execution for a cumulative total of 13.7 that tied him with Air Force's Erich Upton for 18th overall. Petros was right there with his fellow sophomore as he netted 13.5 points for his efforts to rank 25th in the field.
Petros' second event final of the evening was the high bar. A clean and efficient performance on the apparatus helped the Ohio native earn a grand total of 13.166 points that mirrored Stanford's Jeremy Bischoff for 28th place. Similar to the scoring for rings, a tremendously competitive top of the leaderboard saw Petros' score finish just 0.3 points behind Ohio State's Kazuki Hayashi's 13.466 effort that was good for 10th in the standings.
The final Midshipman in action was Prince on the floor exercise. Just like his above-mentioned teammates, Prince was skillful in his performance and garnered 8.7 points in execution of his 4.9-level routine for a combined score of 13.6, that tied him with Illinois' Dylan Shepard and Nebraska's Chase Mondi for 30th place. The Florida native's effort was tops among ECAC floor exercise competitors on Saturday night.
In the team finals, Stanford won its fifth straight NCAA Championship with a dominant score of 425.324. Michigan was un-challenged for the runner-up position with a 419.689 before Oklahoma out-lasted Nebraska, 412.956 to 412.427. Illinois was less than a point behind in fifth at 411.659, while the host Ohio State Buckeyes rounded out the leaderboard with a 399.122 team score.
