monday, april 7.1980
daily nehraskan
page 1 1
Team title is 'the biggest thing'
to all-around champion Hartun
By Paul Martin
Although he already had captured the NCAA all
around title and UNL had nearly a four-point lead in
the team race, Jim Hartung wasn't taking any chances
on the Huskers getting caught in Saturday's gymnastics
finals.
The all-around wouldn't mean that much if we
hadn't performed as well as we did as a team," Hartung
said. "A first place in the all-around and a second-place
team finish wouldn't have been very satisfying," he said.
After holding off UCLA's Peter Vidmar 1 15.02-1 13.45
in the all-around competition, Hartung posted a 58.025 in
Saturday's team competition as Nebraska coasted to a
563 .300 to 557.650 win over Iowa State. Oregon, the
third team qualifer, was well off the pace with a 553.450
score.
Hartung's 58j025 topped former Indiana State stand
out Kurt Thomas' NCAA single session all-around scoring
record of 57.70, registered in last year's championship.
Team title biggest
"Sure, the scoring record is nice, but the team title is
the biggest thing," Hartung said. "Ita just happy to be
a part of it. Everybody hit great."
After setting an NCAA team scoring record in Friday
night's preliminaries with a 281 225, the Huskers showed
no complacency, coming out Saturday and shattering
their day -old record by scoring a 282.075 .
Husker Coach Francis Allen, named coach of the year
by the National Gymnastics Coaches Association, was
happy about his team's aggressiveness.
"It was great the way. we really went out strong even
though we had a pretty fair lead," Allen said. "It just
shows they're all champions, the way they refused to let
up," he said.
Hartung typified this attitude as he won the still rings
title and gained All-American in five events after the
Huskers had already won the team title.
Hartung scored no worse than a 95 Saturday, with
the score coming in Saturday night's individual vault
finals.
Galimore nearly perfect
Iowa State's Ron Galimore won the event for the
second time, capturing the crowd with his near flawless
vaulting.
In Saturday afternoon's team competition, two judges
gave Galimore a perfect 10J0 score. And though Galimore
handily won the vaulting title Saturday night scoring
19.75, he was unable to duplicate his afternoon feat.
"On my landings (Saturday night) I had the slightest
bit of movement," Galimore said. "My toes didn't
dig into the mat. That's what th? judges look for,
the slightest bit of movement. I guess those were
95s tonight. The ones this afternoon were 10s,"
he said.
Hartung said performances like Galimore's vault
ing help put things into perspective for him.
"When someone like Galimore sticks vaults the
way he was doing," Hartung said, ,4you realize that
there's plenty of room to improve."
Hartung has ltttle time to relish his honors as he
will be heading to Japan next weekend for inter
national competition, before returning to the United
States for the U.S. Gymnastics Federation Champion
ships scheduled for late April.
Hartung said the meet has added to his confidence
and said he would "try to make up for the routines"
he missed in the NCAA championships in his up
coming competition .
Photo by Mark Billingsley
UNL gymnast Jim Hartung watches NCAA gym
nastics action intently. Hartung won the all-around
title, the still rings, and helped lead Nebraska to its
second straight NCAA Gymnastics Championship
title Saturday,
Johnson vaults to All-American gymnast status
By Kim Hachiya
A year ago, even as recently as a few months ago, Ne
braska's Scott Johnson had no idea he'd be where he is
today -an All-American vaulter and second in the nation
in that event.
Johnson's score of 19325 earned him a second place
finish behind Iowa State's Ron Gajimore, who recorded
straight 9.9s and one perfect 10 during the NCAA nation
al gymnastics meet Saturday.
For Johnson, the meet was a new high in a career that
started in fourth-grade tumbling class.
"God, I feel so good," Johnson said after the meet.
"It's so great to come back, and to come back this fast is
just amazing. I was just booming the last few weeks."
Johnson was hampered by a shoulder injury early in
the season and the freshman from Colorado Springs said
he bombed on some routines earlier this year.
"I'm OK now though. A lot of credit has to go to
Coach (Francis) Allen, he pushed me really hard," John
son said. Francis Allen agreed.
Has what it takes'
"Scotty Johnson just did an overall good job," Allen
said. "He just put it all together on the floor today. When
I scouted him" last year at the Colorado State High School
meet I said 'that kid has what it takes to be a good gym
nast.'" Johnson, said his performance was secondary to the
team's.
"I'm really kind of a team person. I get along real well
with everybody. I just wanted the team to do so well. And
they did," he said.
Johnson's parents were with him on the sidelines after
the meet, savoring the moment.
"We almost didn't get here because of the weather,"
Scott's father Phil Johnson said. "We had called him
Thursday and said the weather is just too bad for us to
Baseball team wins doubleheader
What had been a question mark before Saturday's
Nebraska Big Eight baseball opener with Colorado looked
more like an exclamation point in the Huskers' 15-0, 5-1
doubleheader sweep of the Buffaloes at Buck Beltzer
Field.
Although the Huskers pitching has not been as strong
as the hitting, it was Saturday as pitchers Tim Burke, now
4-3, pitched a no-hitter and Steve Gehrke held Colorado
to just one hit in the second game.
Burke's other no-hitter came in his first start for the
Huskers against Austin, Texas College two years ago.
Husker Baseball Coach John Sanders said the pitching
performances by Gehrke and Burke "were exactly what
we (the Huskers) needed."
''Everyone was saying our pitching was questionable,"
Sanders said. "But we went against some of the best
Gymnasts . . .
i
Continued from Page 1
Husker Scott Johnson recorded his best all-around per
formance Saturday afternoon, scoring a 56.325, muffling
claims that Nebraska has only two good gymnasts-liar-tung
and Phil Cahoy.
"I hear people say how we only have two good cym
nasts," Hartung said. 'Well, now they have to say we have
three."
In Saturday's individual finals, Nebraska clinched four
of six first places, with Cahoy, a freshman, winning the
parallel bars (19.55), and tying for first on the high bar
(19.55). ,
"Both were satisfying wins. I would have liked to have
done better on the high bar, but I had a bad grip, I missed
the crease and almost fell," he said.
Elliott won the floor exercise with a 19.55, twisting
and turning his way to thunderous ovations.
hitters in the country on the California trip. We struggled
a little bit in California, but it sharpened our pitching
staff and it showed today."
'That kind of pitching is encouraging," Sanders added.
"It helps pick up our whole team."
In the first game, the Huskers put the Buffs away
early, scoring six runs in the first inning and adding four
in the second and third frames to lead 10-0 after three.
The Huskers, ranked 28th in the nation in the last
college baseball rankings with a 21-7 record, play a
doubleheader against Kansas State this afternoon at 1:30
at Buck Beltzer Field. Ray Tromba and Cliff Faust are
scheduled as Husker starting pitchers.
Kansas State is 13-1 1 overall and 0-2 in the conference.
The Wildcats dropped a doubleheader to Kansas Saturday.
drive in from Colorado. But then late that night, the
weatherman said it would clear, so we said what the heck,
and came up.
"I'm sure glad we did."
Team-oriented
Phil Johnson echoed Scott's enthusiasm for the team.
"We're a team-oriented family. We get the most excite
ment from seeing the team do well. But this (Scott's
finish) was a treat too," Phil said.
"We weren't too sure that Nebraska would be a good
school for Scott because of the superstars (Cahoy and
Hartung). But to win the NCAA and medal in his first
year-it was obviously the best choice," Phil said.
, "I just can't hardly believe my son is going to be on
Wide World of Sports. We called his grandparents and told
them to be sure and watch it too."
Scott was planning to resume practice Sunday after
noon in preparation for the USA Championships coming
up in two or three weeks.
Former Husker gymnast Larry Gerard offered his con
gratulations and a word of advice.
"You're going to be tired tomorrow (Sunday) so take
it easy," he said. "But now just keep saying to yourself
'I'm never going to score below a 56 in the all-around
again.'-You always have to work harder."
- As he signed autographs Saturday night, Johnson
seemed just as enthusiastic as he was during the meet.
After several performances of his own or his teammates,
Johnson would dash out to offer congratulations or just
show his own jubilation.
When he hoisted the NCAA team trophy over his head
Saturday afternoon, his grin was the proverbial mile wide.
"He's the best tumbler in the world," Hartung said. "I
was really happy he won the floor exercise."
Hartung won the still rings with 19.45 points, wrapping
up the Huskers' fourth individual title.
Iowa State's Ron Galimore, scoring consistent 9.9s in
the vault, received two 10s from judges Saturday after
noon, and one 10 Saturday evening to win the vaulting
title with 19.75 points.
Dave Stoldt from Illinois won the pommel horse with
19.45 points.
Allen said he was most pleased with the win because of
what it will do for Nebraska gymnastics.
"Those kids up there are going to go home and say
4hey, Nebraska really has a good program,'" he said.
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