Current, Former Wolverines Compete at Visa Championships

DALLAS, Texas -- Junior Chris Cameron(Winter Haven, Fla./Lake Region) finished third on the floor exercise to lead the University of Michigan men's gymnastics team's participants Friday (Aug. 14) at the Visa Championships. In front of a crowd of 4,524 at the American Airlines Center, Cameron also claimed ninth on the pommel horse, just behind senior Mel Anton Santander(Southborough, Mass./Algonquian Regional), who finished in eighth. Junior Thomas Kelley(Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) took 10th place on the high bar.

Cameron finished 19th in the combined all-around standings, posting a 169.75 over the course of the two-day competition. Santander followed right behind in 20th place with a 169.1.

After the first night of competition Wednesday, Cameron led the Wolverines with 84.6, good enough for 17th place, bolstered by his trademark flair sequence on the pommel horse and solid performances on still rings and floor exercise. Santander excelled on the floor exercise, pommel horse and parallel bars, holding 21st place in the all-around after night one. Kelley, aided by a spectacular performance on the high bar, garnered 79.7 points and 29th place overall.

The Wolverines began the final day of competition on the still rings, where Kelley led the way with a 14.5. Moving to the vault in the second rotation, Santander had Michigan's high score, posting a 15.35 with his trademark clean form throughout his double twisting vault. The Wolverines rotated to the parallel bars, an event that has given them trouble in the past, but excelled with Kelley and Santander scoring 14.4 and 14.3, respectively.

In the fourth rotation, Santander paced Michigan on the high bar with a 14.1. Rotation five took Michigan to the floor, where Cameron, who started the day in second place on floor, came through once again, giving the audience a show with his trademark Thomas flair sequence for a 15.2. In the final rotation, Cameron once again excelled on his best event, the pommel horse, using his signature style and flairs to earn a 14.55, while Santander registered a 14.5 for his clean and consistent performance.

Michigan alumni Justin Laury (2003-07), Ralph Rosso (2006-09) and Andrew Elkind (2004-07) also competed at the Championships. On day two, Elkind began his night with a near flawless pommel horse routine, scoring 14.55. Elkind continued his remarkable night with another great routine on the parallel bars, showing remarkable difficulty and precision for a 14.95. Elkind's two-day total of 29.75 was good enough for sixth place.

Laury wowed the crowd with his two double-flipping release moves over the high bar, on which he finished eighth. Rosso was solid on all five routines he competed in Dallas, with standout performances on the floor, vault and parallel bars, scoring 14.25, 15.25 and 14.05, respectively.

Alumnus Eddie Umphrey (2002-05) was also on hand in Dallas, finishing 33rd overall on the first day of competition, highlighted by a 24th-place finish on the parallel bars, but he did not advance to the second night of competition.

Event Winners/U-M Finishes (Two-Day Totals)

ALL-AROUND
1. Jonathan Horton 181.90
19. Chris Cameron 169.75
20. Mel Anton Santader 169.10
25. Justin Laury 166.65

FLOOR EXERCISE
1. Steven Legendre 31.00
3. Chris Cameron 30.35
21. Mel Anton Santader 28.65
26. Ralph Rosso 27.95
34. Justin Laury 26.75 

POMMEL HORSE
1. Luke Stannard 30.65
8. Mel Anton Santander 29.00
9. Chris Cameron 28.90
24. Andrew Elkind 26.90
25. Justin Laury 26.80
26. Ralph Rosso 26.75

STILL RINGS
1. Jonathan Horton 31.60
12. Thomas Kelley 28.80
14. Chris Cameron 28.65
16. Ralph Rosso 28.30
21. Justin Laury 27.85
 26. Andrew Elkind 27.35
T29. Mel Anton Santander 27.00

VAULT
1. Jake Dalton 32.70
24. Ralph Rosso 30.05
25. Mel Anton Santander 29.95
31. Justin Laury 28.85
33. Chris Cameron 28.50 

PARALLEL BARS
1. Tim McNeil 30.50
6. Andrew Elkind 29.75
T22. Ralph Rosso 28.35
24. Mel Anton Santander 28.15
28. Justin Laury 27.85
29. Thomas Kelley 27.60
34. Chris Cameron 26.75

HIGH BAR
1. Jonathan Horton 31.55
8. Justin Laury 28.55
10. Thomas Kelley 28.45
27. Chris Cameron 26.60
28. Andrew Elkind 26.55
31. Mel Anton Santader 26.35

Contact: Scott Bregman (785) 760-4383

University of Michigan Athletics

Current, Former Wolverines Compete at Visa Championships

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Players Mentioned

Chris Cameron

Thomas Kelley

Ralph Rosso

Mel Anton Santander

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