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Men's Gymnastics
Spring Named to Pan American Team; Silcox Earns World University Games Selection
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2007 Pan American Games • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil World University Games • Bangkok, Thailand
June 12, 2007 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois men's gymnastics assistant coach Justin Spring, in just his second competition back from a year-long hiatus from the sport due to injury, and junior Chris Silcox, both impressed fans, and most importantly the USA Gymnastics committee, at the 2007 US Gymnastics Men's Qualifier. The annual event was held this past weekend at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., featuring the best junior, collegiate and senior national talent. At the competition, Spring took home top honors on parallel bars (30.250), finished second on high bar (30.000) and rounded out the competition third on vault (31.800). Overall, the performance earned him a nomination to the six-member 2007 Pan American Games squad as announced by USA Gymnastics today. The team is still subject to approval by the U.S. Olympic Committee. The six-member team approved will compete at the Pan Am games, held July 13-29 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The dates for artistic gymnastics at the Pan Am Games are July 14-17, and the competition will be held at the Rio Olympic Arena. "Heading into this past weekend, the main goal was to make the Pan American team, " Spring said about the performance. "I am glad to have the opportunity to represent my country and the University of Illinois in a positive light at the Pan American Games. I look forward to the entire experience." The Pan American Games are held every four years, always competed in a year prior to an Olympic year, and involves the top athletes from North, Central and South America. In the most recent event held in 2003 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, over 5,000 athletes competed from 42 different countries. "I was really pleased to see Justin hit his routines two days in a row," Illinois assistant coach Jon Valdez said. "As a coach, it is just great to see him getting back into top form and putting himself in position to achieve his ultimate goal of getting to World Championships and in the end, the Olympics. From here, its about getting ready for the Pan Am Games and USA Championships, and then prepare for Worlds." Pending the USOC's approval, the six-man Pan Am squad is comprised of: Guillermo Alvarez of Denver, Colo./Team Chevron; David Durante of Garwood, N.J./Team Chevron; Sean Golden of Camden, N.J./Gattaca; Joseph Hagerty of Rio Rancho, N.M./Team Chevron; Spring of Burke, Va./Team Chevron; and Todd Thornton of Houston/Team Chevron. The replacement athletes are Sho Nakamori of Albany, Calif./Stanford University, and Bryant Hadden of Wichita, Kan./Stanford University. The head coach for the team is Mike Burns of Minneapolis, who is the head men's gymnastics coach for the University of Minnesota, while the assistant coach position is still yet to be filled. "Justin just dominated in his events at the Qualifier," Illinois head coach Yoshi Hayasaki said. "He is certainly an athlete that should be leading this Pan American Games team and I am very proud of him." Silcox and junior Tyler Yamauchi also had top performances at the Qualifier to earn bids to the 2007 Visa Championships to be held in early August. Yamauchi finished 33rd overall in the final point standings (57.800), while Silcox took 39th (43.800). For Silcox's accomplishments, the junior from San Antonio, Texas earned a selection to the World University Games team as announced by USA Gymnastics. The head coach of the squad has not been selected. "Chris is really making huge strides during this, his junior year," Hayasaki said. "Chris worked hard to become an All-American this season and has been putting in the time to make the World University Games team. He is definitely deserving of this honor. I am very proud for both of our athletes for their accomplishments. Outside of World Championships and the Olympics, these are the biggest international events and it's an honor to be a part of them." The Men's Delegation for the 2007 World University Games will be comprised of five athletes. The format for the competition is a five-man team who will participate in team, all-around and individual event sessions. The dates of the 2007 World University Games are August 8-18. The artistic gymnastics competition is scheduled to take place on August 9-12. Last weekend's Qualifier also served as the qualifier for the 2007 Visa Championships (USA Championships) scheduled for August 15-18 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., which will be used as the final piece toward selections to the World Championships team. Spring, Silcox and Yamauchi all earned bids to compete at the 2007 Visa Championships, which is the final determinant for the 2007 World Championships team. Silcox will not be attending USA Championships due to his selection to the World University Games squad, which competes at the same time, Also joining the Illini contingent at the 2007 Visa Championships will be junior Wes Haagensen, who pulled out of the Qualifier this past weekend, but had already earned a bid to the Visa Championships due to his second-place finish in the all-around at the 2007 NCAA Championships in April.
2007 U.S. Men's National Qualifier
FINAL RESULTS Floor exercise Pommel horse
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