“You’ve got to understand, he was not recruited by anybody,” Oklahoma coach Mark Williams said. “He was from Edmond, Okla. One of my former gymnasts coached him for one or two years, and he begged me to come see him. …
… On Saturday night, Squires, now a junior, defended his still rings title at the NCAA NC Men’s Gymnastics Championships in Ann Arbor. His score of 15.800 bettered second-place C.J. Maestas of Illinois by .075 points. One night earlier, Squires also put up the top rings score of 15.700 in helping Oklahoma take second place in the team competition.
“This never happens,” Williams said. “I’ve been doing gymnastics for 25 years at the college level, and nobody has ever done this. Somebody that is totally unheard of at the [Junior Olympic] level, never did anything as a ringman, and to improve the way he did in a year and a half is a testament to how hard he worked and believing in a plan and executing it.” …
NCAA – From unwanted to NCAA champ
Oklahoma’s former walk-on Michael Squires defends his rings title
I can’t find his NCAA gold medal routine, so here’s a 6.9 start from 2014 Winter Cup Challenge Finals.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Here are your 2014 Men’s NCAA champions:
Floor: Alec Robin, OU
PH: Ellis Mannon, Minn
Rings: Michael Squires, OU
Vault: Robin, OU
PB: Sam Mikulak, Michigan
HB: Jordan Valdez, Illinois
Sam Mikulak’s win tied him with two others for the most NCAA titles in history.
related – Syque Caesar goes from walk-on to three national championships:
Syque Caesar, a graduate student and co-captain of the gymnastics team, became the first Michigan athlete in 53 years to be part of three NCAA team titles (2010, 2013-14).
(via FIG)
Gymnastics Coaching.com 