Spring Wins High Bar at U.S. Gymnastics Championships
August 12, 2005 | Men's Gymnastics
Aug. 12, 2005
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - University of Illinois senior Justin Spring (Burke, Va.) made history on Friday night at 2005 Visa U.S. National Gymnastics Championships at Conseco Fieldhouse. Spring became the first Illini gymnast to win a National Title with his two-day combined high bar score of 18.750. Scores from Wednesday's preliminary competition were combined with Friday nights score to determine the champions. Spring scored a 9.450 on Wednesday and 9.300 on Friday to win the event by .225 over second place competitor Yewki Tomita.
In addition to the high bar gold, Spring was one of eight individuals named to the U.S. Senior National Team Friday night. Six additional athletes will be named to the team at a later date to bring the total to 14. Those individuals will compete for five spots on the 2005 U.S. World Championship Team at the World Championships Team Selection Competition held Oct. 12-18 in Colorado Spring, Colo.
"Being on the National Team is something I've dreamed about my whole life, but this only the beginning," said Spring. "This will create some opportunities for me to compete internationally and hopefully make the World Championships team this year. Winning the high bar title is just icing on the cake. Making the national team was my focus coming in, but taking home a gold medal too just tops it off."
"I am thrilled for Justin," said Illini head coach Yoshi Hayasaki. "There was a lot of pressure at this meet, so for him to come away with a U.S. title and be named to the National Team and have a chance at the World Team is a great accomplishment. The great thing is he made some minor errors this week and still has some room to improve. This could only be the beginning for him."
Spring also fared well in his three other events, finishing third on vault (19.050), tied for sixth on the parallel bars (17.200) and seventh on the floor exercise (17.650). Senior teammate posted the second best pommel horse score of the night (9.275) after a disappointing performance on Wednesday to finish in 11th place on the event.
NBC will broadcast the men's competition tape-delayed on Sunday, August 21 from 1-2:30 p.m. (ET)
Illinois at the 2005 Visa U.S. Gymnastics Championships
August 10-13, 2005 - Conseco Field House, Indianapolis, Ind.
Justin Spring Floor Exercise 8.800 - 8.850 - 17.650 (7)Vault 9.675 - 9.375 - 19.050 (3)
Parallel Bars 9.100 - 8.100 - 17.200 (6t)
High Bar 9.450 - 9.300 - 19.750 (1)
Ted Brown Pommel Horse 7.600 - 9.275 - 16.875 (11)
