KANSAS CITY, MO. – Gophers junior-to-be Shane Wiskus, the 2018 and 2019 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, won a national title on vault on Saturday night at the U.S. championships at the Sprint Center.
Another Minnesotan, 16-year-old Sunisa Lee of St. Paul and the Midwest Gymnastics Center, heads into Sunday's session trailing superstar Simone Biles by 1.750 in the women's all-around. Ch. 11 will begin its live coverage at 7 p.m.
Wiskus, who is from Spring Park, had a two-day total of 28.850 on vault. He also was third on parallel bars and fourth in all-around. He made a spectacular save on high bar, blindly snatching it one-handed following a release that was a little too big. Rather than smashing onto the mat, he kept going.
"I can't tell you how proud I am of Shane for the performance he put on this weekend," Gophers coach Mike Burns said. "This is a huge step in Shane's career and I'm super excited for him."
Sam Mikulak, a two-time Olympian, cruised to a record-tying sixth national title. The 26-year-old posted a two-day all-around total of 174.150, more than five points clear of runner-up Yul Moldauer and third-place finished Akash Modi.
Mikulak won gold in four events: the floor, pommel horse, high bars and parallel bars.
Biles also will be seeking a record sixth national title.
Lee, one of the youngest competitors in the 17-woman field, put up the top bars score (14.750) and was third on both beam and bars. She is in her first year of senior competition.
