'M' gymnast makes U.S. team

He may be young. He may have been a rookie of sorts. But Michigan gymnast Justin Toman took it all in stride and left Indianapolis as a member of the U.S. national men's gymnastics team.

Competing with Michigan teammates and former Olympians alike, Toman arrived at the 1998 John Hancock U.S. Gymnastics Championships Aug. 19 for his first trip to the tournament, which took place at Market Square Arena.

During two days of competition, Toman earned the ninth of 14 open spots on the U.S. national team.

Toman's all-around score was 103.200, including a fifth-place finish on the still rings (8.850) and ninth on both the floor exercise (8.925) and the parallel bars (9.000).

"There were two days of competition, and on the first day I was really nervous," Toman said. "It got to my head that I was competing in such a big meet. I was in the same rotation as other national team members.

NATHAN RUFFER/Daily Michigan gymnast Justin Toman earned the ninth spot (out of 14) on the U.S. national team last month.

"I had a couple of big falls, but I got all the bugs out. On the second day of competition, I tried to have fun and not worry about who was in my group."

Also representing Michigan at the tournament was sophomore Kevin Roulston, who finished 15th.

Wolverines Scott Vetere, Brad Kenna and Josh Levin participated at the senior level, and freshman Daniel Diaz-Luong participated at the junior level.

Vetere's all-around score of 100.725 placed him 27th, while Kenna finished 28th with an all-around score of 100.675. Levin finished 64th and made it to the tournament's finals.

At the junior level, Diaz-Luong finished ninth in the 16-18 year-old bracket, missing the junior elite national team by 0.575 points.

Roulston was impressed with Toman's ability to stay calm and perform at such a high level.

"He did really well both days," Roulston said. "It was his first time competing at this tournament, and he handled the pressure really well. He only missed two routines out of the 12 during the whole competition."

Toman's success did not come without hours of hard work and careful preparation.

Roulston said he practiced "a lot of routines. High volume of routines. Kevin and I did a lot of mini-meets where we would be judged by our coaches. That really helped us a lot."

Roulston said such preparation is common for both Toman and himself.

"He's a hard worker in the gym," Roulston said. "We're always the last two guys to leave the gym after practice. He doesn't like to leave until his routines are perfect."

09-08-98