GymACT 2025 Season: week 3
Weekend of January 25-26
GymACT week 3 brought us once again a gymnastic sensory overload of awesomeness. So much great gymnastics, fantastic team(s) enthusiasm, contagious exuberance and, of course: STUCK landings!!! What a weekend!
Quick recap of who was where:
Stanford Open: Bay Area Bandits individuals
Kansas City Invite: Minnesota 🏆 (298.50), Iowa (288.70), Rocky Mountain Mavericks (287.60), NIU (267.20), and host Kansas City (184.40)
Next Era: Washington (294.50)
On the west coast, a few Bandits took on some of the best in the world in the prestigious Stanford Open. This popular competition bringing together extraordinary gymnasts from top-level college teams and elite guys with hopes of making the national team (it’s a championship qualifier meet). As such, space was limited and Bandits had to settle for a few individual spots rather than a team entry. It was a great meet for the guys. Notable highlight: Evan Hymanson’s spectacular high bar routine which ended, mind you, with a triple pike! Yowzah! Evan recently earned a graduate degree from Stanford. He continues to train amongst the Cardinals, but he’s an all-in Bandit, baby!
(Ok... I’m TRYING not too be biased. But a TRIPLE PIKE?!?!?)
The Washington Huskies tested their team fortitude with an ambitious schedule this weekend. They’re taking on an incredible challenge to raise funds (setting up 3 competitions in 3 locations, including 4 full-size semi-trucks worth of gymnastics and TnT equipment) 💪…. AND throw in a meet somewhere in the middle… cuz why not?!? They were already there, I guess: Sunday 3pm at the Next Era meet.
Them Huskies are a tough breed, make no mistake about it.
Meanwhile on the other side of the Missouri River, KCU showed they too can throw a good gymnastics party! This meet had it all! It was a great format accommodating both “traditional” (5-up, 4 count format) and “small teams” (3-up, 3-count format).
It was fun to watch. The energy was intense. The competition was fierce.
Kudos, of course to the DOUBLE Golden Gophers, who now have a stupid stat of 22:0 winning every match since… well, however long 24 meets take. That’s a WHILE! ;)
“Double” gold, because the meet had both GymACT championship-style team formats: “traditional team” and “KC Cup” (in the style of the GymACT National Championships Commissioner’s Cup format).
Minnesota came out on top of both team formats. But it was no walk in the park for the GymACT National Champs! They were up against some HUNGRY teams. Iowa came ready to play hard with their roster full of “secret weapons” (their words, not mine) while the home KCU crew put up a strong fight with the ‘small team’ strategy. Minnesota, along with NIU and Mavericks split their focus to compete in both categories.
(slightly evil) side note: It was highly entertaining watching the coaches run across the live feeds moving equipment and working hard!… meanwhile: I got to sip on pineapple juice in my lanai grabbing screenshots for this article. Yeah. We all make sacrifices for the cause. #GoGymACT
But it was NOT a shoe in for coach Mike Burns and the Gophers and they had a tough road getting to this meet, fraught with difficulties and obstacles. Sick gymnasts, long drive and a less than stellar first rotation seemed to open the door for the challengers, who wasted NO time turning on their A game and putting on the pressure.
But as it turns out: Gophers apparently THRIVE “under pressure” and the final results once again place the Minnesota team on top of the podium, Two times winners in one meet. Congratulations.
Yeah, yeah, AND what I was MOSTLY impressed with: Iowa. Coach Tom Dunn told me last week about the “young” team they have this year, but this meet, I watched closely as these “kids” show true grit, individual inner strength and enviable team unity.
Oooohhh…. Mr. Dunn ain’t done yet, folks. This man has been impressing me since I competed for BYU (last millennium) and Iowa was NEVER to be underestimated. There is beauty in the coaching wisdom and patience of a coach who recognizes and cultivates talent, diligent and deliberate. Keep an eye on the Hawkeyes. HUGE things are coming down the pike from the team composed primarily of underclassmen. Mark my words.
As I think I understand it,
Breeze
From the coaches:
Reporting highlights from individual programs.
MINNESOTA:
Competing for the third weekend in a row, Minnesota was able to field two teams in this awesome format of the KC Co-Ed Invite. It was great to see the Mavericks from Colorado and the Twisters from Kansas City from the Western Conference along with Iowa & NIU from the East! Our guys did a nice job of managing some last minute changes to the lineup due to some sickness that was hampering our team this weekend. Resiliency seems to be turning into a core value for this group of guys and adjusting in mid-stride is a valuable lesson they’re learning!
Shout out to our four All Arounders who had impressive outings, with Sophomore David Grossman taking not only the AA title (79.2), but he took top honors on SR (13.9), Vault (13.9), PB (13.1), & HB (13.2). Freshman Leo Feuer put up an impressive 71.8 to finish 3rd overall. Sophomores Joey Pennell (71.6) and Aaron Novick (70.9) rounded out the top 5 AA spots. Sophomore Paul Acker took home the Pommel Horse title with an impressive 12.7.
Final Team Results had Minnesota take home two team titles with a 298.5 in the 5 up, 4 count team race and a commanding victory in the 3 up, 3 count team race with a score of 216,40.
Northern Illinois University:
This was NIU’s second meet of the season after having their first meet last week at Windy City. The Huskies were able to put out two team at the KC Co-Ed Invite. The team demonstrated this weekend their resolve and toughness in the face of adversity. After suffering several injuries on floor during the second rotation several split second lineup changes had to be made. But this did not stop the Huskies from fighting until the end. The team rallied and counted all hits on pommel horse and set a program record with the second highest team score on the Still Rings (48.5). Special recognition to Senior Jerid Enyard who was 3rd on Pommel Horse (12.6) and Freshmen Liam McGuire who went 6 for 6 in the AA (67.6).
Bay Area Bandits:
Toma Murakawa nailed a Kaz 1.5 for a 13.95, hit a clean 13.45 rings set.
Panteley Kolodii went 13+ on PH and Rings, and out a clean 12.95 on PB. Panteley had used West Point Open as his Winter Cup Qualifier event, scoring a 76.65 in the AA, which has proven to be enough to qualify him to the Winter Cup in February, as the second runner up in the AA from the 4 events.
Reece Landsperger went 12.6 on both PB and HB.
All three will be representing the bandits at future competitions this year!
Stick Masters: Week 3 stuck dismounts
🏆 Rocky Mountain Mavericks: 8
Minnesota: 6
Kansas City United: 3*
Bay Area Bandits: 3*
Washington: 3
* Special recognition kudos to KCU & BAY for getting in on the stick ranking with a 3-up team and Individuals respectively.
GOTW - Gymnast of the week nominations:
MINNESOTA: David Grossman
To say David Grossman is rapidly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the GymACT League would be an understatement. He came ready for action at the KC Co-Ed Classic and delivered a top performance as he posted the highest AA score of the season with a 79.20 - a full 4 points higher than the closest AA score this season. On his way to his AA victory, he also won 4 individual event titles on SR (13.9), V (13.9 - tied with teammate Ben Letvin), PB (13.1), and HB (13.2). He tied for 2nd on FX and finished 5th on PH. With the departure of Kellen Ryan to Penn State this winter, David is rapidly staking his claim as the top all arounder not only on our team, but in the nation. David really stepped up into a leadership role this weekend when we had several guys get struck with some sickness. I feel strongly that David embodies what it takes to be considered for this week's Gymnast of the Week
RTN info: 2025-01-25 - KC Coed Classic (1 Minnesota 298.500, 2 Iowa 288.700, 3 Rocky Mountain 287.600, 4 Northern Illinois 267.200, 5 KC United 184.400), 1st AA 79.200, 2nd(t) FX 13.100, 5th PH 12.000, 1st SR 13.900, 1st VT 13.900, 1st PB 13.100, 1st HB 13.200
Mavericks: Ethan Zenick
Ethan Zenick led the Mavericks with an OUTSTANDING performance this weekend at the KC Classic. While a rough competition for the team, Ethan shined in a time of need for the team. He managed to compete All Around for the first time of the season, HITTING 6-for-6 routines and being our top score on 4 of the 6 events. His focus, performance, and spirit helped keep a battered Maverick roster motivated and energetic throughout the competition. He came out as the 1st place gymnast on Floor, and 2nd place on Horse and the All Around. The competition started on PBars, where Ethan was the first routine for the MAVS in the entire competition. There, he acquired a stellar 9.2 E-score, sticking his Double Front dismount the only second time ever trying it in competition! On HBar, he again led off the team with a HIT set, setting the tone for the team's rotation. Moving on to Floor, the team was in need of a good routine after two rough events and a rough start to the rotation. Ethan went up second for the MAVS nailing his routine and achieving the FIRST PLACE performance of the meet. On Horse, Ethan spent only 1-week putting a routine together to help the MAVS fill our lineups for TWO competing teams and try out competing the All Around. He snagged another HIT routine and the top score for our team. On the Rings, Ethan has now added his Cross to TWO competitions and HIT both times. Ending on Vault, the Mavericks needed to rally our last event after a rough competition with lots of falls and sick/injured team members. While Ethan was not in our 5-man line up, he inspired his team by trying a BRAND NEW vault. With a desperate desire to perform harder vaults in competition, Ethan spent 9 total vault rotations learning to do the Yurchenko style entry. In our last practice before the competition, he managed to perform TWO Yurchenko Double Fulls to the pit, TWO Yurchenko Layout Fulls to competition mats, and ONE Yurchenko Layout 1.5 to competition mats. While nervous at the competition, Ethan figured out how to WU his new vault in the 10-min WU and 1-touch period. Without any issue, Ethan STOMPED his newly learned vault after only 9 total practices trying it prior. This man is a BEAST and is a staple to the Mavericks - CU Boulder gymnastics culture in Colorado! He is without a doubt the MVP of the week!
Connecting the dots … Where are they now?
“I spy with my little eye” on the live instagram feed…
YOU may know him as ½ of the coveted N2 Award (Naseeruddin-Natalie Award), but MY good friend Dr. Syed Naseeruddin was spotted looking sharp and sharp-shooting! I’m bummed I wasn’t there in person to chat with him, but was seen on the lives walking about the KCU Invitational competition this weekend. Looking ever so sharp and stylish (as always), he was out there gracing us with ONE of his amazing talents: taking stunning photos of the meet.
Syed has been taking pictures at major events for a LONG time. It’s always a treat to have him around. We at GymACT are lucky for his presence in the organization and HONORED to have him as a benefactor to our most prestigious award.
Up Next:
Saturday, February 1
Arizona State, Bay Area Bandits @ SC United (Seal Beach Invitational)
Indi-hio, NY Alliance (Circle of Stars)
Iowa, KC United @ Minnesota (Roethlisberger Iceberg Invite)