Gophers club gymnastics team finishes fourth in national championships

Yaroslav Owens-Pochinka won the GymACT national title on still rings, while Kellen Ryan was sixth in the all-around. Both earned All-America honors.

May 16, 2022 at 2:11AM
University of Minnesota Men's Gymnastics club's Yaroslav Owens-Pochinka practices on the rings as teammate Ben Hays watches Monday, April 25, 2022 at Cooke Hall in Minneapolis, Minn.. One season after the Gophers men's gymnastics team was cut, team members still compete for a club team in virtual meets, and the nationals start May 14. ] AARON LAVINSKY• Aaron.lavinsky@startribune.com
The Gophers’ Yaroslav Owens-Pochinka (shown practicing at Cooke Hall in April) won the GymACT national title on still rings with a score of 13.800 on Saturday. (Aaron Lavinsky, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The University of Minnesota club gymnastics team finished in fourth place at the GymACT national championships Saturday in Mesa, Ariz. Two gymnasts and coach Mike Burns also earned individual awards.

Yaroslav Owens-Pochinka won the GymACT national title on still rings with a score of 13.800. Kellen Ryan was sixth in the all-around with a score of 73.750. Both earned All-America honors. Burns was named GymACT national coach of the year and College Gymnastics Association/GymACT regional coach of the year.

The team is in its first season as a competitive club program after gymnastics was among three men's sports cut by the Gophers athletic department last year. Iowa, also making its debut as a club team after being cut, won the team title with a score of 319.950. Arizona (315.600), Washington (302.350) and Minnesota (291.350) rounded out the top four.

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about the writer

Rachel Blount

Reporter/Columnist

Rachel Blount is a sports reporter for the Minnesota Star Tribune who covers a variety of topics, including the Olympics, Wild, college sports and horse racing. She has written extensively about Minnesota's Olympic athletes and has covered pro and college hockey since joining the staff in 1990.

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