Stanford males’s gymnastics: Constructing a tradition, after which a dynasty

Ian Gunther can inform you precisely how the championship streak started—with an opponent’s inconceivable fall.

Gunther had simply chalked his arms in preparation for a routine on rings. Going into the ultimate rotation of the 2019 NCAA Males’s Gymnastics Championships, Stanford trailed four-time defending champion Oklahoma by almost 4.5 factors. To bridge the hole, Gunther and his teammates wanted near-perfect execution and a few assist from the Sooners, who had been throughout the gymnasium finishing their lineup on excessive bar.

The then-freshman wasn’t watching his competitors, however he heard Oklahoma standout and future Olympian Yul Moldauer’s title being introduced. Subsequent got here a collective gasp from the spectators. “I’m clearly specializing in my routine, however I knew he fell,” Gunther recalled. “I knew he tousled, and in my head I’m like, ‘Alright, I feel they only opened the door proper there.’”

And so he took benefit of it. 

“I did the very best routine in my life,” he stated. The Cardinal narrowly outscored Oklahoma to seize their first NCAA title since 2011.

Eight months earlier, the staff decided to defy the chances. In a preseason coaches’ ballot, Oklahoma acquired 19 of 20 first-place votes. Stanford, coming off a disappointing 2018 season, acquired just one, which was forged by its head coach, Thom Glielmi.

Because it turned out, Glielmi’s gymnasts had been simply getting began. They’re underdogs not, having bested No. 3 Michigan final month to assert their fourth nationwide title in as a few years. Their 2022-2023 outcomes had been so dominant—a second straight convention championship and quite a few particular person accolades—that few outdoors the staff notice what number of obstacles had been overcome on the trail to a four-peat.

And in a collegiate athletic panorama upended by NIL and the switch portal, the boys’s gymnastics program has given Stanford Athletics a constant success story amidst the ups and downs of its extra high-profile groups. 

The Cardinal’s defiant run stemmed from a 2018 preseason journey, time spent introducing the frosh to expectations and selecting a staff mantra: “New Period.” (This yr’s motto: “Set the Normal.”) Hours spent collectively, out and in of the gymnasium, developed a robust tradition.

“I do know that after they go and compete, I belief them with my total life,” Matthew Szot ’22 MS ’23 stated of his teammates. “And I do know that they’re going to do precisely what they’ve been coaching for and precisely what they’ve been working for.”

The 2018-2019 staff was comprised of skilled upperclassmen and a extremely touted freshman class. Amongst them had been future All-Individuals, nationwide staff members, and an Olympian and world champion. 5 years later, Szot stated, not a single athlete on the roster is aware of what it’s prefer to lose in NCAA staff competitors.

10 seniors graduated after final yr’s third consecutive championship, and solely three elected to compete for one more season. Added to this upheaval was the strain of Stanford’s latest dominance.

“Having that focus on on our again, I feel proper off the bat, from a psychological and emotional perspective, I feel that’s rather a lot, particularly on our youthful guys,” Szot stated.

The staff was additionally suffering from lingering and new accidents all through the season. In a single 24-hour interval in March, two gymnasts sustained season-ending accidents, together with fifth-year Brody Malone, a two-time NCAA all-around champion, nationwide champion, 2020 Olympian, and world champion who was injured whereas competing in Germany with the nationwide staff.

Lacking athletes like Malone who had been anticipated to compete in 5 or 6 rotations come NCAAs, Glielmi regarded to gymnasts farther down the lineup to fill within the gaps because the Cardinal pursued its sixth nationwide title throughout his 21 seasons heading this system. On the championship meet hosted by Penn State, 14 staff members had been known as on to finish two routines every on common. 

“After they had the chance, they had been prepared and so they embraced it and so they took benefit of the chance to be in a lineup,” stated Glielmi, who coached the 2020 Olympic staff. “And so they did their job.”

Stanford gymnasts “hit,” or efficiently executed, 27 of 30 routines at NCAAs this yr, Glielmi stated, a efficiency which speaks to their fastidiously constructed staff tradition wherein every athlete is built-in and accountable.

Past the team-oriented mentality, Glielmi’s technique encourages gymnasts — 10 of whom both at present are or have been within the U.S. nationwide staff system — to push the problem of their routines and contend for coveted spots within the lineup. Whereas this requires some early-season adjustment, their postseason execution has helped the Cardinal fend off challenges from the nation’s different high groups. 

Glielmi emphasizes that in coaching and intra-squads (simulated competitions held on meet weeks to find out who will compete), the whole roster performs a task by pushing these forward of them to execute the very best routine they’ll. The result’s a robust lineup on every of the six apparatuses and an equally deep bench. However the system additionally fosters reliance on a spread of athletes, particularly necessary in a sport the place accidents are prevalent.

At this yr’s NCAAs, youthful members of the staff had been pivotal. Sophomore Nicholas Kuebler and freshman Asher Hong earned particular person titles on flooring and vault, respectively, whereas the Cardinal additionally racked up a dozen All-American nods. Stanford led from the primary rotation, in the end topping the sector by virtually 3 factors.

5 years after beginning a “New Period,” the gymnasts who’ve been on all 4 championship groups are happy with their achievements, however maybe much more proud to see the usual they labored so arduous to set being upheld.

“It simply teaches you to be a staff participant and to be a pacesetter,” Gunther stated of the staff tradition. “Irrespective of what number of occasions you’re competing, zero or six…it doesn’t matter. Everybody will get a hoop on the finish of the day after we win.”

After every season, Szot stated, most individuals speak about scores and titles. However what he’ll bear in mind most are his teammates.

“I feel loads of these guys are identified for his or her gymnastics,” stated Szot, who was just lately voted “Greatest Workforce Participant” by his friends. “However I feel in actuality, they need to be identified for the character that they uphold and [what] unbelievable folks they’re…and the constructive impression that they’ve on the varsity, this program and the whole world.”

Glielmi agrees, crediting a lot of the staff’s tenacity and cohesion to veterans Gunther, Malone and Szot, whose legacy he believes will persist lengthy after their commencement. 

Possibly subsequent season, Glielmi stated, in the event that they tie Nebraska’s report of 5 consecutive NCAA Championships (1979-83), the Cardinal can begin considering of themselves as a dynasty. However with a younger, proficient roster, they’re removed from performed and need to proceed drawing consideration to their typically ignored sport.

“We’ve received some stallions within the stables nonetheless,” Glielmi stated. “So we’re gonna hold attempting to win championships.”