COLUMBUS, Ohio - No. 1 Stanford secured its spot in Saturday's national championship meet by posted the top score in the morning qualifying seassion with a 417.389 mark, kicking off the weekend competition inside Ohio State's Covelli Center.
The Cardinal was followed up by No. 5 Nebraska (413.523) and No. 4 Illinois (410.461) as the three teams to qualify for tomorrow's finals session from the morning slate.
Stanford tallied a pair of individual titles in the event, with sophomore Asher Hong pacing the field on parallel bars (14.700) and pommel horse (14.300).
Leading off the event on vault, Khoi Young and Colt Walker highlighted the rotation with a pair of top-5 scores in the event. Young tallied a 14.700 to finish second behind California's Khalen Curry, while Walker finished fourth with a 14.666.
Stanford notched it's season-best parallel bars rotation with a 71.698 score, scoring each of the top four scores in the event with Hong's 14.700 routine leading the way. Young secured his second silver medal of the afternoon with a 14.600, while Walker and Taylor Burkhart tied for third with a 14.466.
Young was also Stanford's high scorer on high bar, securing a 13.566 score for sixth place, while Walker (13.533) and Jeremy Bischoff (13.433) place eighth and ninth place, respectively, in a 65.698 third rotation for the Cardinal.
On floor exercise, Burkhart finished with a fifth-place 14.133 effort for Stanford's top mark in the event, while Kaien J-Spencer put up a career-best 14.033 routine to finish sixth.
The Cardinal put up a 70.299 showing in the fifth rotation on pommel horse, with J.R. Chou (14.733) and Marcus Kushner (14.033) posting career-high marks to finish third and eighth. Young finished sixth with a 14.300, while Luke McFarland also posted an eighth-place 14.033 routine to round out four top-10 finishers for Stanford in the event.
Led by Hong's 14.300, Stanford closed out the qualifying session with a 69.698 rings rotation. Mark Berlaga would finish just behind his teammate with a 14.166 for silver, while Burkhart tallied a sixth-place finish with a 13.866.
The Cardinal will compete for its fifth consecutive national title on Saturday at 3 p.m. PT. Three teams out of a session-two field featuring No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Michigan, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 7 Penn State, No. 10 Air Force, and No. 11 Springfield will join the Cardinal, Nebraska and Illinois in the championship final.
