Michigan
Big Ten Event Finals
Blixt, Bold Haul in Big Ten Titles; Xiao Named Coach of the Year
4/6/2024 11:22:00 PM | Men's Gymnastics
» Michigan took home a pair of individual titles with Landen Blixt winning floor exercise and Crew Bold winning parallel bars.
» Head coach Yuan Xiao was named Big Ten Coach of the Year, while Fred Richard was named Gymnast of the Championships for the second straight season.
» Richard, Blix and Bold were named to the All-Big Ten first team.
Site: Champaign, Ill. (State Farm Center)
Event: Big Ten Championships Event Finals
Scores: No Team Scoring
Next U-M Event: Friday, April 19 -- at NCAA Qualifier (Columbus, Ohio), 1/7 p.m. (TV: NCAA.com)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The University of Michigan men's gymnastics team concluded competition at the Big Ten Championships on Saturday (April 6) with the individual event championships at Illinois' State Farm Center. Sophomore Landen Blixt won the floor exercise title, and graduate student Crew Bold won on parallel bars.
At the conclusion of the meet, head coach Yuan Xiao was honored as the Big Ten's Coach of the Year for the third straight season, while sophomore Fred Richard won Gymnast of the Championship for the second straight season.
Senior Evgeny Siminiuc earned runner-up finishes on both parallel bars and high bar.
How it Happened
Floor Exercise
Blixt competed last in the rotation, and tied with Illinois' Connor McCool with a score of 14.500. A stuck dismount on Blixt's final floor pass proved to be the difference. Graduate student Paul Juda took fifth with 14.150. The win for Blixt on the exercise is the 14th overall in program history and the first since Jacob Moore in 2022.
Pommel Horse
Blixt placed seventh on the event with a 12.375, while Juda counted a fall and score a 11.900 for an eighth-place finish.
Still Rings
Three Wolverines placed in the top-five on the event, led by a second-place score of 14.125 by junior Rithik Puri. Senior Chris Read took third with a 14.100, and freshman Akshay Puri scored a 13.825 to place fifth.
Vault
Juda placed third with a 14.700 that featured a small hop on his landing. Blixt sat down on his effort and placed 10th with a 13.650.
Parallel Bars
Bold scored a 14.550 to secure the win on the event, the 25th on the apparatus in program history. Siminiuc, the 2022 champion, placed second behind Bold with a 14.500.
High Bar
Siminiuc led going into the final routine, but his 14.150 did not hold up as he placed second. Bold scored a 14.125 to tie for third, while sophomore Robert Noll marked a 13.500.
Up Next
U-M advances to the 2024 NCAA Championships hosted by Ohio State next Friday and Saturday (April 19-20) at Covelli Center in Columbus. Seeds and session groupings will be announced on Monday (April 8).
Players Mentioned
