MINNESOTA MEN’S GYMNASTICS MAKES IT TWO UNDEFEATED SEASONS IN A ROW AT THE 2025 NIU INVITATIONAL

Wow, this was a meet for the ages. Number 2 ranked Minnesota came to the DuPage County Fairgrounds with a few goals in mind. The first was to defend our team title from last year when we brought home the championship trophy. Only one small thing stood in our way—the top-ranked team in the nation was also competing.

Arizona State has been on a tear this year, overtaking Minnesota earlier in the season to claim the No. 1 spot. ASU had posted at least three team scores surpassing the 300-point barrier this season. Minnesota broke 300 for the first time the previous week with a 303.30.

Minnesota started the meet on pommel horse, delivering several strong routines but also encountering a few struggles. It was a mixed start to what would be the most anticipated regular-season matchup of the year. ASU began on vault, posting a 53.80—a full 6.5 points ahead of Minnesota’s 47.30 on pommel horse.

Some of the highlights on pommel horse included solid sets from Owen Frank (12.4), earning a third-place finish and a career-high score! Paul Acker and Noah Wills posted identical scores of 12.0, tying for fourth place.

We knew the meet would start this way due to the score discrepancies between vault and pommel horse, but the deficit still seemed daunting. As we moved to the second event, Minnesota competed on still rings while ASU took on parallel bars. MMG delivered strong routines, posting a team score of 50.10 to ASU’s 48.20 on parallel bars. David Grossman was our top performer on still rings with a score of 12.90, earning a second-place finish in the final rankings. This was a step in the right direction, closing the score gap slightly. ASU remained in the lead with 102.00 to Minnesota’s 97.40.

Minnesota then decided that trailing ASU was getting old, and when they went to vault, they made a statement like never before. Posting a school record score of 56.50, they catapulted themselves into the lead when ASU posted a 49.60 on high bar. The team score looked a little better now, with Minnesota in the lead at 153.90 to ASU’s 151.60. At this point, the wind was surgically removed from the sails of Arizona State, and they never regained the lead from this point forward. The vaulting squad was absolutely awesome, with two stuck landings from Tony Nicholas (13.50) and Ben Letvin (14.60). Two beautiful vaults, but the best part was the top-three sweep Minnesota posted, with Ben Letvin in first, Caleb Gurman in second (14.20), and Warren Strootman picking up third-place honors with a 14.0. It was an epic performance that pretty much put the nail in the coffin!!!

All that was left was to finish the meet, and Minnesota did so in a resounding fashion. Over the next two rotations, Minnesota continued to increase its lead over Arizona State. Moving to parallel bars, Minnesota posted a team score of 50.70, while ASU scored 49.50 on floor exercise, widening the gap even further (Minnesota: 204.60 to ASU: 201.10). David Grossman wowed the crowd once again, sticking his full-twisting double back to earn a meet-high score of 13.20.

Heading into the fifth event, we knew it would be a challenge to extend the lead, as ASU was on its way to pommel horse—one of its best events. However, we were on our way to high bar—one of our best events! The high bar squad did not disappoint the Minnesota faithful in attendance. Jack Gagamov and David Grossman put on a clinic, scoring 13.30 and 13.10, respectively, to claim the top two spots on the awards stand. Zach Smollin and Aaron Novick contributed strong routines, earning scores of 12.60 and 12.40, good for fourth and fifth place. Minnesota posted another team score above the 50.00 mark, finishing with a school-record 51.70 on high bar, while ASU scored 48.10 on pommel horse. At this point, the running score was simply too much for ASU to overcome heading into the final event (Minnesota: 255.70 to ASU: 249.20).

The last event had ASU on still rings and Minnesota on floor exercise. Needless to say, we were riding pretty high with a 6.5-point lead heading into the final rotation. Remember how ASU started the meet with a 6.5-point lead? That’s a 13-point swing over the last five events—a testament to a level of excellence that’s hard to match. Arizona State put up a valiant effort on rings, posting a team score of 51.30 to bring their final total to 300.50. Meanwhile, the men from Minnesota delivered an outstanding performance on floor exercise, earning a team score of 50.80 and securing a season-high total of 306.50—a victory over the No. 1-ranked team in the nation. Joseph Pennell led the way on floor exercise with a 13.50, while Warren Strootman wowed the entire team with his return to action, scoring 13.40. Aaron Novick also put everyone on notice with a solid 13.00.

The NIU Invitational featured three other teams that Minnesota had the chance to compete against—Iowa, Northern Illinois, and KC Twisters. Wisconsin also had a presence in the meet, though they fielded only one gymnast. The final results were as follows:

  1. MINNESOTA – 306.50

  2. Arizona State – 300.50

  3. Iowa – 292.60

  4. Northern Illinois – 280.60

  5. Kansas City – 128.50

Congratulations on another undefeated regular season for Minnesota Men’s Gymnastics! Heading into this final meet of the season, we knew it would be our biggest challenge yet, with No. 1-ranked Arizona State in town. However, our guys stayed focused, stepped up when it mattered most, and finished the season with a 17 & 0 regular-season record. Combined with last year’s performance, Minnesota now boasts an incredible 31-0 regular-season record over the past two seasons—a true testament to the team’s dedication and excellence!

NEXT MEET WILL BE THE GymACT ALLL STAR MEET IN PITTSBURGH, PA

Eleven gymnasts will represent the GymACT Eastern Conference in the 4th Annual GymACT All-Star Meet, held in conjunction with the NAIGC Nationals. This event features the top five gymnasts from both conferences on each apparatus battling for bragging rights. The West has claimed victory the past three years, but the East is determined to turn the tide this year!

Minnesota Gymnasts Qualifying for the 2024 All-Star Team:

  1. Paul Acker – PH

  2. Owen Frank – PH & SR

  3. Jack Gagamov – HB

  4. David Grossman – SR, PB, & HB

  5. Caleb Gurman – FX & V

  6. Justin Lancisi – V & HB

  7. Ben Letvin – PH, SR, V, & HB

  8. Anthony Nicholas – FX & PB

  9. Luke Pedersen – PB

  10. Joseph Pennell – FX & PB

  11. Zach Smollin – FX & HB

Good luck to all the Minnesota gymnasts who qualified for the 2025 GymACT All-Star Meet this season!

SEARCH FOR A NEW FACILITY FOR MINNESOTA MEN’S GYMNASTICS IS STARTING TO TAKE SHAPE

This year has been a challenge for our team, as many of you know. Since the start of the school year, we’ve been carpooling to various gyms around the Twin Cities metro area. These gyms have been incredibly welcoming, allowing us to maintain our high level of performance throughout the season. Despite the extra travel, we are currently ranked #2 in the country—and as you just read, we defeated the #1 team! Things are going well in the gym, but our guys are spending multiple hours commuting to practice—valuable time that could be spent studying. Even with this added challenge, the team still finished the Fall Semester with a Team GPA just under 3.50!

A huge shoutout to the three amazing gyms that have welcomed us into their facilities:

  • North Shore Gymnastics – Maple Plain, MN

  • Mini-Hops Gymnastics – Plymouth, MN

  • Twin City Twisters – Champlin, MN

We have been searching in a tight radius close to campus and have narrowed our search down to two possible locations to call home. Can’t really reveal the locations but suffice it to say that we may be moving equipment into a home gym for Minnesota Men’s Gymnastics in the not-too-distant future. More to reveal later but just wanted everyone to know that the search is on and it’s heating up!!!

Our fundraising efforts will need to continue to move at a strong pace to help us be in a financial position to show a potential landlord we have the financial wherewithal to be able to pay the rent on a monthly basis. This will not be an inexpensive facility, and we will be instituting a Recreational and Pre-School Gymnastics Club in the same space to create a revenue source to cover the cost of having a space we can call home.

Lots of moving parts here folks! Thanks so much for your amazing generosity in the past and I sure hope we can count on you to continue to provide some of the necessary funds to keep our program thriving at a high level!!!