Husker Pair Face Nation's Best at Winter Cup

Senior Tony Burtle and sophomore Stephen T?trault descend on the desert this weekend as they face some of the nation’s top gymnasts at the 2006 Winter Cup in Las Vegas.  The three-day event begins on Thursday, Feb. 2, with two sessions of preliminary action beginning at 2 p.m. central at the Sports Center Arena and concludes on Saturday, Feb. 4, with the meet finals at 8:30 p.m.

 

The approximately 84 senior gymnasts in attendance all received invitations to the meet either through a qualifying finish at a 2005 national event or by submitting a video to a panel of judges.  The field is separated into two sessions on Thursday, of which only those gymnasts who finish in the top three on any given event or those who receive a qualifying score will advance to the finals on Saturday.  Friday is reserved as a training day for finals competitors.

 

T?trault will begin the meet for Nebraska on the parallel bars as part of Session I, which will begin at 2 p.m.  Included with T?trault on this starting group are Oklahoma’s Jamie Henderson and former Sooner David Henderson, Minnesota’s Sergei Dmitriev, Jacob Lee and Clay Strother and Temple’s Sterling Kramer.  The groups will all follow Olympic order from their starting event.

 

Burtle competes as part of Session II, which will begin following the first session at approximately 8 p.m.  Like T?trault, Burtle also begins on the parallel bars and is joined by Illinois’ Chris Lung and Adam Pummer along with three additional club competitors.

 

This is the first Winter Cup for Burtle and the second for T?trault.  

 

 

T?trault Takes Another Roll in Las Vegas

Although only a sophomore, Stephen T?trault takes his second roll at the Winter Cup this year after competing in his initial Winter Cup in 2005 when he was automatically entered in the event due to his top-12 all-around finish at the 2004 Junior Nationals.  This season however, T?trault comes to the competition like so many others who are all required to submit a video and wait for a panel of judges to extend or withhold an invitation for the athlete to compete.

 

In his first run at the Winter Cup, T?trault marked a 9.333 on the vault in just one attempt nearing his then season-high of 9.40.  Overall, T?trault finished 45th in a field of 84 despite scratching out of the still rings.

 

This year, the sophomore from Lincoln aims to compete in all six events and improve his place in the final standings.  However, T?trault’s most important goal will be to place in the top 24 on any single event in order to merit an invitation to the U.S. Nationals in June.  The vault will undoubtedly bring T?trault’s greatest opportunity for qualifying, while his recent success on the pommel horse could also carry over into a strong performance on that event.

 

 

Burtle Makes Debut Bid at Winter Cup

Fifth-year senior Tony Burtle received his first invitation to the Winter Cup in 2006 following an injury-plagued 2005 season that caused him to apply for medical redshirt. 

 

Despite the setback, Burtle rehabilitated quickly and returns to the gym this season as one of the leaders on the Nebraska roster.  With two major meets behind him, the Grand Island, Neb. native has regained his position as one of Nebraska’s top acrobats by showing impressive skills on the floor exercise, vault and high bar.  In NU’s season opener at the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 14, Burtle made his way into the finals on all three events and went on to garner second-place honors on the floor exercise with a season-high score of 9.00.  He also performed well on the vault for a season-high mark of 9.10.

 

The 2006 Winter Cup will undoubtedly be one of the most prestigious events of Burtle’s career and will provide him the opportunity to pit his routines against some of the nation’s most talented men’s gymnasts.  Burtle will join teammate Stephen T?trault as a strong competitor on the vault as well as bringing in a solid set on the floor exercise and high bars for what the Huskers hope will be a successful run in Las Vegas.

 

 

MPSF Comes Out Full Force in Vegas

Of the 84 athletes representing 12 NCAA programs at the 2006 Winter Cup, 15 hail from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.  Of the five-team conference, Stanford and California boast the most participants for their respective schools with five each, followed by Oklahoma with three and the Huskers with two.  Air Force failed to qualify any member of its roster to the event.

 

Although the MPSF qualified a number of participants, the Big Ten will dominate the event with a total of 28 athletes representing six schools.  No. 1 Ohio State and No. 4 Michigan lead the pack with seven each.

 

Also making an appearance at the event is NU recruit Kyle Shanahan who is slated to compete during Session II of the preliminaries along with Husker senior Tony Burtle.

 

California                  Stanford                   Oklahoma              Nebraska

Tyler Block                 Dylan Carney             Taquiy Abdullah       Tony Burtle

Kyson Bunthuwong     Alex Schorsch            Jamie Henderson     Stephen T?trault

Colin Christ                 Sho Nakamori            Jonathan Horton      

Tim McNeill                David Sender             

Shawn Mowry             Jason Shen

 

 

Huskers Spread the Wealth in 2006

Unlike more recent seasons where the top scores in each event were owned by a select few, the 2006 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team seems to be spreading the success throughout the roster. 

 

Of the six Olympic events, high scores in each are held by a different gymnast including senior Tony Burtle on floor exercise (9.00), junior Jason Wassung on pommel horse (8.85), senior Ray Hacker on still rings (8.80), sophomore Stephen T?trault on vault (9.25), freshman T.J. Schmidt on parallel bars (8.90) and senior Derric Wood on high bar (8.65).

 

In all, the four classes are each represented with the seniors boasting the most high marks with three.  Additionally, Wassung holds the high score in the all-around (49.55).

 

 

Parallel Bars Lead Huskers in National Ranks

After spending the first week of the 2006 season at No. 4 on the vault, the Huskers fell on that event and emerged on the parallel bars as the nation’s No. 7 squad.  Although normally a difficult event for Nebraska, the parallel bars have brought a number of successful routines for the Huskers this season including fantastic performances by senior Derric Wood who currently holds a season-high of 8.35, junior Jason Wassung who gained a season-high of 8.85 and freshman T.J. Schmidt whose team-high score of 8.90 earned him third-place at the Stanford Open on Jan. 21.

 

At the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 13, the Huskers combined for a score of 32.00 in the event, but went on to improve that score by nearly two and a half points a week later at the Stanford open where they tabbed a 34.324. 

 

Although no single Husker has broken into the individual parallel bars ranks, the consistent improvement throughout the lineup shows that several Nebraska gymnasts, including Wood, Wassung and Schmidt might have the opportunity to do so as the season progresses