Big Eight gymnasts
Iowa State favored to regain title
By JOE CHILDS Kansan Sports Writer
Iowa State figures to regain the Big Eight gymnastics title it surrendered to Colorado a year ago in competition this weekend at Ames.
But Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma should wage an interesting battle for second, although KU Coach Bob Lockwood feels, "It should be an extremely close meet—a minor break could decide the championship."
Balance . . . and muscle
The Cyclones captured the gymnastics crown in 1965-66-67 before being edged by Colorado last year. Iowa State defeated each of the other Big Eight squads this year with the exception of Oklahoma, which was not on the schedule.
Action underway
The team title and all-around title will be settled tonight in sessions starting at 6 o'clock. Two events, with 24 men in each, will be conducted at a time. The top eight performers in each event qualify for individual competition tomorrow night.
All-around men competed in "'compulsories'" last night-Olympic routines in which the United States has been weak. The session was designed to give experience to the all-around performers with an eye toward improvement for the 1972 Olympics.
The emphasis on individual performance becomes more important this year since the winning team and top three performers in each event qualify for the NCAA meet in Seattle April 3-5.
KU's gymnasts take an 8-2 dual record and No. 2 conference ranking into the meet. Iowa State has averaged 161.1 points to the runner-up Jayhawks' 153.6 points.
Mar. 21
1969 KANSAN 9
Senior and KU captain Robert Pierson performs the difficult Maltese cross in a still rings routine. F son and the Jayhawks challenge Iowa State in the Big Eight gymnastics meet this weekend at Ames, Iowa.
Ranking among the top three performers in long horse vaulting, floor exercise and parallel bars, Jayhawk captain Robert Pierson will lead KU into the Big Eight meet. Pierson also ranks sixth in the still rings and in all-around.
Two other Jayhawks rank high in conference competition. Stan Clyne holds the fourth position in floor exercise and the third spot in vaulting. Kirk Gardner, ring specialist, ranks second to Iowa State's defending champion Ward Meythaler. Gardner boasts a 9.3 average, and in head-to-head competition, has twice tied Meythaler.
Slowed by a sprained ankle but still competing will be KU's Roger Hemphill, whose horizontal bar scores have been above 9.0 in his last four meets.
OU ace favored
Oklahoma star, Tom Sexton, defending champion in the horizontal bar and holder of the season's best all-around average
(50.73) has the credentials to be the meet's outstanding individual.
Ken Snow of Kansas State should be a serious contender for the all-around title. The KSU sophomore ranks No. 1 in both vaulting (9.14) and floor exercise (9.07) and trails Sexton by only .11 of a point in the all-around competition with a 50.62 average.
Top-rated in other events include Colorado defending side horse champion Pat Edwards,
THE
Studio
although Iowa State's Russ Hoffman leads the circuit with an 8.94 season average, Brent Simmons and freshman Dennis Mazur, both of ISU, figure to battle for parallel bars honors.
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Challengers four
THIS WEEKEND'S SUA POP FILM IS
FLOOR EXERCISE-Dan Bradford, Stan Clyne
"DARLING"
SIDE HORSE—Charles Beer, Rich Schubert.
give Sexton strong challenges in all-around.
STILL RINGS—Roger Hemphill,
Fish Gardner
The KU entries:
Clyne.
PARALLEL BARS-John
Ken Gardner.
VAULTING—Ron Faune, Stan Clyne
with JULIE CHRISTIE
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, March 21, 22, 23----7 & 9:30 Dyche Auditorium Admission: 50c
PARALLEL BARS—John Edwards, Stan Clyne.
HORIZONTAL BARS—Roger Hemubill, Gerald Carley.
MARK THESE DATES ON YOUR CALENDAR:
"The Silencers"
"The Pawnbroker"
"Night of the Generals"
"Charade"
"Privilege"
"Barefoot in the Park"
April 11, 12, 13
April 18, 19, 20
April 25, 26, 27
May 2, 3, 4
May 9, 10, 11
May 16, 17, 18
ALL-AROUND—Robert Pierson,
John Brouillette.
Simmons takes a league's best 9.24 p-bars norm into the meet and is also highly-rated behind Sexton in horizontal bar. In fact, Simmons and Snow, along with Colorado's Ben Blea and Cyclone Dave Butzman, should
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