ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy men's gymnastics team kicked off its 2026 season with a competitive 307.65 to 306.10 victory over Springfield College on Saturday afternoon at the Halsey Field House Gymnastics Facility. Interspersing four first-time collegiate competitors into their 12-man lineup, the Mids (1-0) used a 2.15-point swing on the rings rotation to pull ahead of the Pride (0-1) and hold on down the stretch for the conference victory.

Navy's individual effort was led by Brian Solomon (Jr., Lynnfield, Mass.) and Boone Washburn (So., Lake Oswego, Ore.), who each placed first, Solomon on the parallel bars with a 12.7 score and Washburn on the high bar with a career-best 13.4. Additionally, Solomon recorded a career-high score in the all-around with 79.05 points over six events.

As a team, Navy scored 52.5 points on the floor exercise, 52.1 on the pommel horse, 50.7 on the rings, 53.75 on the vault, 47.8 on the parallel bars and 50.8 on the high bar.

"It's always important to open up the season with a conference win," remarked head coach Kip Simons. "I was really proud of our new performers this afternoon. We have some work to do with some of our returners, but at this point in the season, we are focused on the process and not as much the results."

The meet opened with an ultra-competitive set of floor exercise routines that saw the Mids earn a slight 0.25-point lead. Navy used its depth to secure the early advantage with three of its gymnasts placing in the top-five led by Solomon's 13.4-point effort, that ranked second overall. Daniel Gurevich (Jr., Frisco, Texas) was one place back in third with a 13.3 score, while Benjamin Thurlow Lam (Jr., San Francisco, Calif.) posted the event's fifth-highest score at 13.0.

The lead moved over to Springfield on the ensuing apparatus, the pommel horse. A significant event win by the Pride's Devon Felsenstein bolstered the visitor's cause as he cleared second-place Jonah Soltz (So., Tacoma, Wash.) by 0.5 points, 14.1 to 13.6 for the victory. Gurevich claimed his second top-four result in as many events as he came in fourth with a score of 13.35. In his collegiate debut, freshman Kody Tokunaga (Palatine, Ill.) placed fifth with a 13.3 performance.

Navy took over the lead never to release it during the rings rotation as it out-scored Springfield by 2.15 points, 50.7 to 48.55. A sweep of positions two through five helped the Mids bolt into the lead. Solomon paced Navy with a 13.0 score that was good enough for second place, while Garrett Lawless (Sr., Grimesland, N.C.) came in third with a career-high 12.7-point routine. Senior Aaron Stein (Houston, Texas) and freshman Zachary Silao (Lutherville, Md.) tied for fourth place with identical 12.5-point results.

Springfield shaved 1.3 points off its 1.65-point deficit with a strong turn on the vault that saw three Pride gymnasts finish in the top-four. Solomon once again sparked the Navy lineup as he ranked third overall with a 13.65 score. In his first competitive collegiate vault, Thurlow Lam tied Springfield's Owen Carney for fourth place with a 13.6 mark.

Solomon's standout afternoon continued on the next apparatus, the parallel bars, as he cruised to the event win by 0.6 points over fellow Navy gymnast Justin Lozano (So., Cypress, Texas), 12.7 to 12.1. Lozano's routine was the first of his collegiate career as he was sidelined in 2025 with an injury suffered during the preseason.

With the competition tightened to just a 0.1-point margin, 256.85 to 256.75, the Mids made sure their home fans would leave Halsey Field House happy as they recorded a strong 50.8-point set of high bar routines to seal the victory. The Pride were only able to muster 49.35 points in the final rotation. After coming on late in his freshman campaign in 2025, Washburn had a breakout performance on Saturday with a career-best score of 13.4 coming courtesy of an 8.8-point execution of his 4.6-point level of difficulty routine. Solomon came in second with a 13.05 score, while Soltz placed fourth at 12.5. Senior Matthew Petros (Broadview Heights, Ohio) and sophomore Misha Romo (Los Alamitos, Calif.) tied for fifth place with matching 12.45 results. Saturday marked the first collegiate competition for Romo.

As the day's lone all-around competitor, Solomon netted a combined score of 79.05 courtesy of a 13.4 on the floor, 13.25 on the pommel horse, 13.0 on the rings, 13.65 on the vault, 12.7 on the parallel bars and 13.05 on the high bar. The talented junior's previous career-high in the all-around was 77.8 points.

Navy will continue early season action next Friday and Saturday as part of a multi-team field at the West Point Open. First touch on both days is set for 7 p.m.