Men's Gymnastics Lands Three Early Signees
11/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan men's gymnastics head coach Kurt Golder announced Monday (Nov. 27) the signing of Chris Cameron (Winter Haven, Fla./Lake Region High School), Thomas Kelley (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville High School) and Ben Baldus-Strauss (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South High School) to National Letters of Intent. The trio will attend U-M for the 2007-08 academic year.
"All three student-athletes are going to be impact players," Golder said. "These guys have another year of development and have the potential to progress extremely fast. They are already very good and I think all three of them can be contributors in all six events. "
Cameron, a U.S. Junior National Team member, trains at the Florida Flips Gymnastics gym and is coached by Steve Voisard. Cameron recently took first place in the pommel horse, second in the all-around and the floor exercise and sixth and eighth place finishes in the still rings and high bar, respectively, at the 2006 U.S. Junior Olympic National Championships. "Chris Camerons energy is at a very high level," Golder commented. "Hes one of those energetic guys that are good to have on the sideline to fire your team up, it helps to create a pretty energetic environment. Cameron is very diverse, when you look at the results over the years in the major competitions you will see he did well in the parallel bars, one competition he did well on the pommel horse and the rings, so I think he can contribute just about everywhere."
Kelley is also a U.S. Junior National Team member, and trains at the Buffalo Grove Gymnastics club, where he is coached by Kelly Crumley. Kelley took second place in the high bar and fifth in the all-around at the 2006 U.S. Junior National Olympic Championships. "When I visited Kelley at his home I was impressed with his family," Golder said. "I was also impressed with how he conducted himself in the gym. When I saw him he had a cast on his arm and was still working just as hard, if not harder than everyone else. He was very innovative and found ways to get a complete workout in, even with his arm in a cast. So I was very impressed with that."
Baldus-Strauss trains at the Bartlett Gymnastics gym under Coach Chris McKee. Baldus-Strauss tied for 11th in the all-around and sixth in the high bar at the 2006 U.S. Junior National Olympics, and took ninth in the all-around at the U.S Visa Cup National Championships. "Ben is a very conscientious guy and is a very good student," Golder remarked. "Hes not real flashy, hes more of a steady guy. He might be someone that people dont really notice in a big meet because he doesnt have one event that is his best, but at the end of every meet he wont be too far from the top of the all-around scorers. I think he is going to be a great Michigan man and will do a lot for our program."
Michigan's annual Maize and Blue intrasquad competition takes place on Saturday, Dec. 16, at 7 p.m. in Cliff Keen Arena. The team opens its regular season at the Windy City Invitational in Chicago on Saturday, Jan. 13.
Contact: Joseph Conrad (734) 763-4423
