As the 2019 season dawned, head coach
Charley Nelson was very high on the prospects of his freshman class. But even he might not have predicted the results they turned in during the first meet of the season at Illinois Saturday afternoon.
The team's best scores on five of the six apparatuses were turned in by freshmen.
Kaleb Booth and
Nick Smiley each had two team-leading performances. Sophomore
Sam Montague set two career highs as the Flames laid the foundation for their 2019 season.
"Kaleb really had a great day and Smiley had it going on, and we had a solid start," Nelson said. "Today was kind of a full dress rehearsal for the big crowd at Windy City, and we had some jitters, but for the most part guys are stepping up and getting the job done."
Illinois won the dual meet, 404.550-352.800. Both teams will be part of the Windy City Invitational field next Saturday.
Rotation 1 – Pommel Horse
- Colin Schwartz led the way for the Flames in the first rotation of 2019. He scored 12.250 on pommels and took fifth place. "Schwartz had a couple of minor bobbles, but it was a solid start for the year," Nelson said.
- Michael Peluso was not far behind with a score of 12.150.
- Sam Montague, Xan Weaver, and James Strevey each scored over 10.
Rotation 2 – Floor
- Freshman Kaleb Booth anchored the floor lineup and showed why he earned that spot. His 12.600 was the team's highest score on the floor.
- Nick Smiley scored 11.600, and James Marden posted an 11.400.
Rotation 3 – Vault
- Booth appeared in the final slot again, and went two-for-two in leading the squad. He scored 13.750 on his first collegiate vault.
- Sam Montague attempted the most difficult vault of all the Flames and was just behind Booth with a score of 13.700, setting a new career high.
- Weaver and Schwartz each scored 12.950, as the team totaled 66.000, their highest on any apparatus.
Rotation 4 – Still Rings
- Nick Smiley, another freshman, led the way on rings with a 12.750.
- Senior Wes Diveney was second among Flames with a 12.300. "Diveney has really been stepping it up in practice, and his rings set today was as good as he's done all year in the gym," Nelson observed.
- Billy Hollis (11.650) and Montague (11.600) fought for the team's third best score. For Montague, it was a career high-tying score. "Montague had a pretty solid day," Nelson noted. "His high bar was nice and he completed a brand new vault. He was a little gassed by the end so his p-bars set suffered a little, but he gave us some good routines."
Rotation 5 – High Bar
- Paul Burney became the third different freshman to lead the team in an event with his score of 11.550.
- Weaver and Sam Forbes were right behind him, each scoring 11.350.
- Marden's 10.500 contributed to the team score.
Rotation 6 – Parallel Bars
- Smiley finished fifth overall with a score of 12.850.
- Schwartz scored 12.450, and Weaver checked in with a 12.350.
- The team's score, 59.100, was their second highest on an individual event.
All-Around
- Smiley, Weaver, Montague, and Burney each completed the all-around.
- Smiley's 69.250 was the team's highest score. Weaver totaled 68.700, with Montague close behind at 67.350.
Up Next
- The Flames will host the 49th annual Windy City Invitational next Saturday.
- Nelson said that the team is very eager to compete on their home floor. "We are expecting a big crowd and a great meet as always at one of the biggest meets not only on our schedule but in all of collegiate gymnastics. As a team we are going to regroup this week and prepare for Windy City."
- The meet, which will include Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Washington, will begin at 7:30 pm at Credit Union 1 Arena.
- Tickets may be purchased in advanced via ticketmaster.com.
