Michigan
Big Ten Individual Event Finals
Three Wolverines Earn Big Ten Individual Titles
3/27/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Site: Iowa City, Iowa (Carver-Hawkeye Arena)
Event: Big Ten Conference Individual Championships
U-M Champions: 3 (Kenny Keener, still rings; Daniel Diaz-Luong, vault; Justin Toman, parallel bars)
Record: U-M (19-5)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, April 10 -- NCAA East Regionals (Champaign, Ill.), 7 p.m. CST
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The honors continued to roll in for the top-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team Saturday (March 27) as Wolverine gymnasts collected half of the six individual titles at the Big Ten Conference Championships at Iowa's Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
One day after helping Michigan to its first team title since 1975, sophomores Kenny Keener (Maryville, Tenn./Maryville HS) and Justin Toman (Wallingford, Conn./Lyman Hall HS) and freshman Daniel Diaz-Luong (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt HS) proved to be the Big Ten's best in their respective events. Keener won the still rings, Diaz-Luong captured the vault and Toman repeated as Big Ten champion on the parallel bars.
The top eight finishers of each event in Friday's Big Ten team competition qualified for Saturday's action, and Michigan was represented by six gymnasts who gave the Wolverines at least two competitors in every event except one (horizontal bar).
Keener was awarded the still ring championship with a record score of 9.912, which included a perfect 10.0 from one of the six judges. Toman also experienced the rewards of a flawless performance, receiving a 10.0 from one judge for a 9.912 champion score on the parallel bars. Diaz-Luong proudly earned the Big Ten vault champion plaque with a 9.812 score.
The winners on the remaining three events were Tim Elsner from Ohio State on the floor exercise (9.737), Don Jackson from Iowa on the pommel horse (9.787) and Doug Stibel from Ohio State on the high bar (9.837). Iowa's Todd Strada won the all-around in Friday night's competition with a score of 57.800.
Other Michigan top-six finishes in the individual events included freshman Scott Vetere (Pennsburg, Pa./Quakertown HS) with a runner-up score on the parallel bars (9.837); Toman with third on the floor exercise (9.662) and fifth on the pommel horse (9.675); and Diaz-Luong with a sixth-place finish (9.625) on the pommel horse. Senior Randy D'Amura (Austin, Texas/St. Michael's Academy) and freshman Brad Kenna (Barberton, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit HS) also competed for the Wolverines.
Michigan placed four gymnasts -- Toman, Vetere, Keener and Diaz-Luong -- on the All-Big Ten team, comprised of the six event winners and the top six all-arounders. Junior LaLo Haro (Puebla, Pue. Mexico/Instituto Iberia) just missed all-league honors, finishing seventh in the all-around.
Michigan was still not done reaping the awards as head coach Kurt Golder was honored as the Big Ten Coach of the Year, along with Vetere receiving the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award. Big Ten Gymnast of the Year went to Iowa's Strada.
The Wolverines have a week off, then return to action on Saturday (April 10) when they travel to Illinois to compete in the NCAA East Regionals.
Event-By-Event U-M Individual Scores
FLOOR EXERCISE Justin Toman 9.662 (3) Randy D'Amura 8.875 (12) POMMEL HORSE Justin Toman 9.675 (5) Daniel Diaz-Luong 9.625 (6) STILL RINGS Kenny Keener 9.912 (1) Scott Vetere 9.250 (9) VAULT Daniel Diaz-Luong 9.812 (1) Brad Kenna 9.275 (T7) PARALLEL BARS Justin Toman 9.912 (1) Scott Vetere 9.837 (2) HORIZONTAL BAR Justin Toman 7.975 (9)
( ) denotes place
NOTES
• Justin Toman's back-to-back Big Ten titles on the parallel bars make him the first person to repeat in that event since 1984, when Minnesota's Joey Ray claimed the last of his four straight parallel bars championships.
• Kenny Keener is the Wolverines' first still rings champion since 1987, when Mitch Rose won the title. Daniel Diaz-Luong's championship in the vault ended a similar drought as he became the first U-M winner in that event since Scott Moore won back-to-back titles in 1986 and 1987.
• Michigan has produced the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in each of the past two season, with Scott Vetere earning the honor in 1999 after Kevin Roulston (Lititz, Pa./Manheim Township HS) received the award in 1998.
• The Wolverines' three Big Ten individual titles give them 72 all-time, which ranks Michigan fourth behind Illinois (124), Minnesota (95) and Iowa (90).
Players Mentioned
