April 26, 2004

Colorado Springs, Colo. - University of Illinois sophomore Justin Spring (Burke, Va.) turned in an impressive performance at the U.S.A. Qualifier on Saturday, April 24, at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Spring finished eighth in the all-around with a score of 52.775 and was third among those not already on the Senior National team to punch his ticket to the U.S.A. Championships, which will be held in early June.

Spring, who is the 2004 NCAA high bar champion and a four-time All-American, was solid on his four best events, taking first on high bar (9.625), fifth on floor (9.250) and parallel bars (9.100) and tied for sixth on vault (9.350) against over 50 of the best gymnasts in the nation. He also scored an 8.200 on rings and a 7.250 on pommel horse to round out his all-around score.

The men's qualifier is the only route for athletes not already on the Senior National Team to qualify for the 2004 U.S. Championships (June 2-5 in Nashville, Tenn.) and eventually the 2004 Olympic Trials (June 24-27 in Anaheim, Calif.). The top 13 all-around athletes from the Men's Qualifier plus the 14 current National Team members will compete at the National Championships. In addition, individual event specialists placing first or second on their event at the Qualifier advanced to the Championships, along with the top two three-event, four-event, and five-event qualifiers who finished among the top 13 all-around athletes.

"I'm excited for Justin, as this is the first step towards making the Olympic team," said UI Head Coach Yoshi Hayasaki. "With such a short time between the NCAA Championships and the Qualifier, it's really tough to avoid a let down in training, but Justin is so talented that he was still able to get through against some of the top gymnasts in the country."

"For him to win the high bar and place in the top six on four events against this type of competition shows what he is capable of," continued Hayasaki. "Now he's got a month to work on pommel horse and rings before he goes for a spot on the National team in June."

Also competing for the Illini at the Qualifier were Big Ten pommel horse champion Ben Newman and NCAA pommel horse champion Bob Rogers. Newman competed on the pommel horse (9.000), rings (8.800) and vault (8.400), while Rogers saw action on floor (7.900), pommel horse (9.100) and high bar (8.450). Both finished in the top-10 on pommel horse - Rogers seventh and Newman tied for ninth - however, it was not enough for either individual to advance.

Men's U.S. Championships Qualifiers (top 13 AA, not already qualified)
1. Jamie Henderson, Oklahoma, 54.025
2. Jonathan Horton, Cypress, 53.475
3. Justin Spring, Illinois, 52.775
4. Jason Furr, Chevron-Ohio State, 52.725
5. Michael Reavis, Iowa, 52.375
6. Joseph Hagerty, Gold Cup, 52.350
7t. Ron Ferris, Ohio State, 52.325
7t. Gerry Signorelli, Michigan, 52.325
9. Tony Pilyavsky, Colorado TC, 52.050
10. Kyson Bunthuwong, Golden Bear, 51.875
11. Wes Haagensen, St. Louis, 51.825
12t. Kevin Tan, Penn State, 51.800
12t. David Sender, Buffalo Grove, 51.800.
Additional Qualifiers: Geoffrey Corrigan, Michigan; Graham Ackerman, UC-Berkeley; Scott Vetere, Michigan; Brian Lee, Army; Nyika White, Temple; and Edward Umphrey, Michigan.
*For more information visit www.usa-gymnastics.org