Tag: inside sports

MINNEAPOLIS — The Stanford men have built a dynasty in NCAA gymnastics, and now they’re taking that to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Former Cardinal Brody Malone and current standout Asher Hong earned two of the five spots on the U.S. team Saturday after two days of competition at the Olympic trials in Minneapolis. They join trials champ Fred Richard, Paul Juda and Stephen Nederosik on the team, with Stanford’s Khoi Young and 2021 Olympian Shane Wiskus as traveling alternates.

This is the second Olympics in a row when three Stanford men’s gymnasts are part of the U.S. delegation, though in Tokyo two of them were alternates.

Richard qualified for the team automatically by winning the all-around competition and placing top three on three events. His two-day score of 170.5 held off a late-charging Malone by just 0.2 points.

Juda finished fourth with 168.85 points, followed by Hong with 167.65. Nederosik, a pommel horse specialist and the 2021 world champion, ranked second in that event.

The biggest surprise was Wiskus, who had the meet of his life in his home state and finished third with 169.65 points. The selection committee, relying largely on simulations to determine the highest scoring team, ultimately determined the other gymnasts better fit into the puzzle that the program hopes will result in the first U.S. men’s gymnastics team medal since the 2008 team won bronze in Beijing.

“We have a chance to win a medal,” Malone said, “and that’s what we’re going over there to do.”

Stanford gymnasts will play a key role in that effort.

Though three will make the trip and two will compete next month, six of the 16 athletes competing at the trials had Stanford connections, including four who were on the team that won a record-tying fifth-consecutive NCAA championship in April. Even more Cardinals competed at nationals earlier this month in Texas.

“It brings the best out of me,” Hong, a sophomore last year, said. “We’re all brothers. Like we all literally love each other. So I can’t express enough how big of a support system I have at Stanford with the guys on the team.”

The two other Stanford gymnasts, Colt Walker and Jeremy Bischoff, finished 10th and 11th in the all-around at the trials, while alum Curran Phillips had the highest total score on his primary event, parallel bars.

Founded in 1891, five years before the first modern Olympics, Stanford’s men’s gymnastics program had produced three U.S. Olympians prior to this weekend, including Malone.

Now Malone joins Steve Hug (1972 and 1976) and Jair Lynch (1992 and 1996) in going to a second Olympics. Additional Stanford gymnasts have competed in the Games for other countries.

Lynch remains the only Cardinal men’s gymnast to win an Olympic medal, having taken silver on parallel bars in his second trip to the Games.

Malone, the 2022 world champion on high bar, could be primed to change that.

That the 24-year-old was even competing this weekend was a feat in itself. Sixteen months ago, while competing at an event in Germany, Malone landed awkwardly on his high bar dismount and went home with a dislocated knee, fractured tibia and torn ligaments.

Three surgeries later, he returned to competition in January, and by the U.S. championships a month ago he was doing the all-around again. After convincingly winning his third U.S. title there, the gymnast from Rockmart, Georgia, came to Minneapolis as a solid favorite to make the team.

After a strong start to the competition Thursday, Malone struggled on floor — the last event he started training post-injury — and pommel horse to finish second to Richard on Day 1. Then he opened Day 2 with uncharacteristic mistakes, including a fall, on high bar, his best event.

He quickly got his groove back, though, and ended up improving his scores across the next four events and matching his Day 1 score on the other.

Even with his pedigree and solid showing this weekend, Malone started to get nervous when the selection committee saved his name for last.

“It kind of scared me a little bit,” he said, with a wide grin. “But I was just super happy. I’m over the moon. I’m just ready to get back in the gym and start getting ready to go over to Paris.”

OKLAHOMA CITY — NiJaree Canady and her Stanford teammates are used to playing with their backs against the wall.

The Cardinal faced elimination for the sixth time in the NCAA Tournament on Monday night and needed to beat No. 1 seed Texas to stay alive in the Women’s College World Series.

This time, Stanford came up short.

The Cardinal’s season ended after a crushing 1-0 loss to the Longhorns, who scored the only run of the game in the seventh inning, following a fielding error, a double and a botched rundown.

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh, the Cardinal went down in order against Texas ace Teagan Kavan to end their season after dropping two games to Texas during their time at Devon Park.

Texas (55-8) advanced to the best-of-three championship series starting Wednesday. The Longhorns will face either Oklahoma or Florida, who play Tuesday to decide the final championship series berth.

Five times in the tournament, including twice in the world series against Oklahoma State and UCLA, did Stanford win elimination games, with Canady carrying the load and getting ample support from the offense.

“Obviously the season coming to an end, didn’t end the way that we wanted it to,” Stanford coach Jessica Allister said. “Still just a lot to be proud of. When (you) end the season in Oklahoma City, that’s the goal every single year.

“Like I told the team in the locker room, you just got to keep tossing your hat in the ring, get your heart broken a couple times, stand back up and try again. “I couldn’t be more proud of the group of women on the team. They played for each other. They took care of one another. They worked hard.”

Canady, the U.S. Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, did her part Monday, limiting Texas to no runs, striking out seven and walking none through six innings.

Canady got Texas’ Allysa Washington to ground to second to start the seventh inning, but second baseman Taryn Kern muffed the ball for an error, allowing the Longhorns to get their lead runner aboard.

The next batter, Joley Mitchell, doubled to left field and Texas was in business, with runners at second and third and no outs. Ashton Maloney then bunted, Canady fielded the ball and threw home.

Catcher Aly Kaneshiro caught Washington in a rundown and threw the ball back to third baseman Jade Berry, who attempted to run down the speedy Washington. Berry then threw the ball back to Kaneshiro, who tagged Washington too late.

“I think something I’m most proud of honestly is the way this team fought until the very last out,” Canady said. “I’ll pick us every single time. I feel like every loss hurts. This being the last one definitely does. Again, just like Coach Allister said, you have to keep going in the ring. One day it will pay off.”

Stanford (50-17) was once again done in by freshman pitcher Kavan, who shut out Stanford for the second time in the series. Kavan, who improved to 20-2, allowed just one hit and no walks. She struck out seven.

“Hats off to her,” Allister said of Kavan. “She threw two good games, kept us guessing. She did a phenomenal job. She’s a great pitcher.”