Air Force Academy

March 24, 2007

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Junior Greg Stine (Houston, Texas) won the USAG all-around national title, as the Air Force men's gymnastics team wrapped up the first (team and all-around) day of competition at the USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships on Saturday, March 24, in Williamsburg, Va. The Falcons finished third in the six-team meet, while Stine claimed his second USAG national title in the all-around.

The Falcons scored 191.300 to take third in the six-team "varsity division". Host program William and Mary won its seventh straight USAG title with a score of 199.850, while Navy took second with 198.000. The top three programs easily distanced themselves from the rest of the field, as Springfield (179.750), MIT (176.850) and James Madison (160.450) finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.

Stine, who first won the all-around title in 2004 prior to leaving the Academy for a two-year mission in Korea, returned to the top step of the podium with an overall score of 49.550. He was one of three Falcons to finish within the top-five. Freshman Brennan Wolford (Thornville, Ohio) garnered a score of 45.900 to tie for fourth, while senior Kurt Antonio (Rio Rancho, N.M.) placed fifth with a score of 44.500.

In addition to winning the all-around, Stine qualified for tomorrow's individual finals in four events. The top eight gymnasts (with no more than two per institution) advanced to the individual event finals, which will take place tomorrow. The Falcons qualified at least one gymnast in every event, while sending two to the finals in five.

Stine scored a season-best 9.400 on the apparatus to finish first in the preliminary round of action, while sophomore Jacob Schonig (Los Gatos, Calif.) tallied a career-best 9.350 to place second. Stine also secured a pair of fourth-place finishes, as he collected a season-best score of 8.600 on the high bar and a mark of 8.750 on the floor exercise. He will be the long Air Force competitor in the pommel horse finals, as he scored an eighth-place mark of 7.550.

Junior Tyler Sickles (Burke, Va.) will join Stine in the event finals on the high bar, as he finished seventh with an 8.200. In addition, Sickles advanced on the parallel bars, tallying a score of 7.800 to tie for eighth. Wolford also picked up a pair of top-eight finishes in his first USAG meet. Wolford earned a sixth-place score of 8.050 on the vault, while amassing an 8.500 to take seventh on the floor exercise.

Junior Brian Boardman (Naperville, Ill.) tied for the fifth on the vault with a score of 8.100, while sophomore Josiah Loeser tied for seventh on the parallel bars with a 7.850.

Action at the USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships concludes tomorrow (March 25) as the advancing Falcons participate in the individual event finals. The meet is slated to begin at 2 p.m., at Kaplan Arena on the campus of William and Mary.