Huskers Earn Best Finish Since 1999

The Nebraska men’s gymnastics team began a new era in 2016, setting a number of school records, en route to a seventh-place national finish, the program’s best finish in 17 years.

The Huskers were led by a trio of seniors who demonstrated leadership both in and out of the gym. Ethan Lottman and Sam Chamberlain each earned their second All-America honors at the 2016 NCAA Championships on pommel horse and parallel bars, respectively. Ryan Irick played an important role in NU’s still rings and pommel horse lineups, competing in all but one meet for the Huskers in 2016.

Injuries plagued the junior class as two of the four suffered season-ending injuries early in the season. Chris Stephenson and Travis Gollott each competed in three meets for the Huskers before being forced to take a medical redshirt for the season. The pair still provided encouragement for the team and will return in 2017 with two years of eligibility still left. The remaining two juniors helped lead a young Husker squad. Austin Epperson became a consistent competitor on floor, still rings, parallel bars and high bar. He became one of Nebraska’s top competitors and advanced to his first ever NCAA Championships Finals, where he brought home an All-America award on floor. Coleman Tokar didn’t see a lot of action, only competing once for the Huskers, but did represent the team in the classroom and in the community.

With injuries on the team, the sophomore class was required to step up quickly and did so without hesitation. Kyle King broke the school record on floor and became a regular competitor on that event along with vault. Antonio Castro had a breakthrough season after redshirting in 2015. Castro consistently performed on pommel horse and high bar and became one of Nebraska’s top gymnasts on the events. Connor Adamsick saw significant action on floor and earned a career-best 15.00 twice in 2016. Daniel Leal was a regular competitor on parallel bars and high bar and was the only Husker to take home a Big Ten medal in 2016, after placing second on parallel bars. Alex Magsam emerged in 2016 as a strong competitor on still rings and vault, competing in every meet on those two events for Nebraska. Sanjaya Roy performed twice on parallel bars for the Huskers, earning a career-best 13.45. Despite seeing little action in the gym, Roy was a great representative in the classroom and in the community. Brenon Sommers served as a reliable attribute on still rings until suffering a shoulder injury towards the end of the season. Adamsick, Castro and King all advanced to the NCAA Championships Individual Event Finals for the first time in their career.

The freshman class made a big impact for Nebraska as well. Anton Stephenson earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week three times in 2016, becoming the first ever Husker male gymnast to earn the honor. He competed in the all-around every meet for Nebraska and advanced to the NCAA Finals, where he earned All-American status after tying for seventh place on parallel bars. Andrew Zymball and Joshua Everitt competed regularly for the Huskers as well and competed in the postseason. Zymball was an active member on floor, while Everitt played an important role for Nebraska on still rings. Jordan King was a strong addition to the Husker squad and competed in all but one meet for the Huskers. He regularly competed on pommel horse, but also appeared on still rings, parallel bars and high bar. Additionally, J. King advanced to the Big Ten Finals on pommel horse where he earned tenth place overall. Heath Anderson made is college debut against Oklahoma on still rings, but saw no other action the rest of the season. He still represented the team in the community, earning a spot on the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.

Nebraska began its season in Colorado Springs, Colo., at the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 16. The team was fueled by personal-best scores from Gollott (high bar), Leal (high bar), Adamsick (floor), Epperson (floor and still rings) and Magsam (vault). As a team, NU posted a 420.300 to finish third overall.

After a slow start to the season, NU picked up the pace. On Jan. 23, the Huskers welcomed Air Force to the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln. Nebraska broke six school records in front of more than 3,000 fans on its home floor, including total team score (434.300), floor score (74.80), pommel horse score (72.70) and high bar score (72.70). Individually, Lottman broke the school pommel horse record (15.55) and K. King shattered the school floor record (15.85). The pair took home the titles on their respective events, while Epperson and Leal earned first place on high bar and parallel bars, respectively.

The following week Nebraska began a series of away meets, beginning with a trip to visit Big-Ten foe Minnesota. Floor proved to be one of the team’s strongest events early in the season. The team broke the event record it had set the previous week (75.45), thanks to impressive performances by K. King (15.75) and Epperson (15.20). Coleman Tokar broke his personal-best score on floor in his hometown with a score of 14.80. Zymball and A. Stephenson also posted personal-best scores on the event with 14.95 and 14.75, respectively. A Stephenson and Leal also earned career-bests on parallel bars, with 14.95 and 14.85, respectively. At the end of the night, the Huskers came in second place, falling to the Golden Gophers, but beating the Minnesota Club Team.

On. Feb. 6, the Huskers competed against the top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners. Despite posting the second-best team score in school history (428.700) at the time, having three top-three individual finishes and a number of personal-best scores, the Huskers fell to the Sooners by a score of 428.700 – 447.450. A. Stephenson earned second place in the all-around (85.75), Chamberlain tied for third on vault and Lottman took second on pommel horse against Oklahoma.

As a team, Nebraska took a few weeks off, while freshmen J. King and A. Stephenson were invited to represent the Huskers at the prestigious Winter Cup in Las Vegas, Nev., on Feb. 18 and Feb. 20. Each gymnast did a fantastic job of representing Nebraska but neither advanced to the finals.

On March 5, the team was back in action as it traveled to Columbus, Ohio, for the Arnold Classic, where Huskers put on a stellar performance. NU broke four school records, finished with 11 personal-best scores, claimed two event titles and the all-around title and finished second. The Huskers ended with a team total of 437.300, breaking the program record of 434.300 that was set earlier in the season. The team also broke the school vault record (74.20) and pommel horse record (73.15). A. Stephenson took home the vault title, the floor title and took first place in the all-around after breaking the school record with 88.90.

The following week, the Big Red competed against Penn State in State College, Pa. A. Stephenson claimed his second consecutive all-around title, while Epperson took home his first floor title with a personal-best score (15.40), but Penn State topped the Huskers 433.600- 431.100.

The Huskers concluded the regular season at home against Minnesota and Iowa on March 20. All-American Ethan Lottman took home his fifth-career pommel horse title, while the team posted its third highest score (432.450) in school history on Senior Day at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. In addition to Lottman, the Huskers had six top-three finishes across all six events.  The Huskers swept the pommel horse awards with Castro and J. King taking second and third place respectively, with personal-best scores. Castro posted a 15.20, while J. King earned a 14.80. Zymball and Magsam also earned career-high scores on floor and still rings, respectively.

NU began the postseason at the Big Ten Championships on April 1-2 in Columbus, Ohio. As a team the Huskers finished sixth and individually, five gymnasts qualified for the event finals. Lottman, Castro and King qualified on pommel horse. Leal advanced on parallel bars, and A. Stephenson competed in the finals on vault and parallel bars. Leal was the only Husker to medal, earning a personal-high score on parallel bars (15.425) to claim the silver medal.

Nebraska finished its season at the 2016 NCAA Championships, as one of 12 teams to qualify. NU put on one of its best performances of the year and finished seventh in the country, the school’s best finish since 1999 and only missed out on a chance at the team finals by .400 points. Seven Huskers advanced to the individual event finals, including Chamberlain, Lottman, Epperson, A. Stephenson, Castro, Adamsick and K. King.

At the finals, seniors Chamberlain and Lottman made their last showings in a Husker uniform count. The pair placed third on parallel bars and pommel horse, respectively and each claimed their second All-America honors. Lottman notched a 15.25 on pommel horse, while Chamberlain posted a 15.15 on parallel bars. Chamberlain also advanced to the vault finals where he tied for 10th with a score of 15.00.

Freshman Anton Stephenson and junior Austin Epperson made huge marks at their first ever NCAA Championship Finals. The duo each walked away with an All-America honor. Stephenson earned his on parallel bars after tying for seventh and Epperson grabbed his on floor after tying for fifth. Both Epperson and Stephenson posted a 14.70 on their respective event. Adamsick scored 14.40 for his performance on floor and tied for 24th. Castro earned a 13.75 on pommel horse (31st) and K. King notched a 14.65 on vault (30th). 

2016 marked the first time since 1998 that four Huskers each took home an All-America honor in a single season, capping off an incredible season.