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Aug. 15, 1997

Cal Gymnasts Kruse and Wells Claim Spots on USA National Gymnastics Team

David Kruse

BERKELEY, Calif. - Trent Wells and David Kruse, both 1997 Cal grads and members of the Bears NCAA championship team, each finished in the top 14 and won spots on the 1997 USA National Gymnastics Team at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships Friday in Denver, Colo.

Wells' 51.500 opening round had him in eighth place after the first day of competition and he looked to be in contention for one of the team's top six spots. A top six finish would have assured him a place on the United States' 1997 World Gymnastics Championship squad. However, Wells could muster only a 50.800 in the finals and finished the competition in 11th position with an overall two-day score of 102.300.

Kruse, who posted a total of 51.25 and was in 10th place following Wednesday's preliminary round, repeated his performance on Friday, finishing with the identical mark in the final round to end the competition in the same position, 10th, with an overall two-day score of 102.500.

A third Golden Bear, junior Alex Chansky, just missed making the squad. Chansky ended the competition in 15th place with a two-day total of 101.050, only .400 behind Jamie Natalie who snared the team's final spot with an overall score of 101.450. (Only the top 14 finishers were named to the U.S. National Team.) Chansky, who was in 19th place after the preliminaries, improved dramatically over his performance on Wednesday with a score of 51.250 which bested his first-round score of 49.800 by a full 1.450 points.

The overall champion was Blane Wilson of Columbus, Ohio. Wilson won four events on his way to winning his second consecutive all-around title and posted a final score of 110.050 to easily outdistance himself from the rest of the field.

Despite not making the U.S. World Championships Team, Wells and Kruse will attend a week-long training camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. in preparation for the World Championships, scheduled for Aug. 31-Sept. 7 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Final Results - Top 15
1. Blaine Wilson, Columbus, Ohio, 110.050. 2. John Roethlisberger, Minneapolis, Minn., 106.850. 3. Jason Gatson, Mesa, Ariz., 106.550. 4. John Macready, Los Angeles, Calif., 105.400. 5. Michael Dutka, Fairless Hills, Pa.,105.100. 6. Jay Thornton, Augusta, Ga., 104.800. 7. Jim Foody, Addison, Ill., 103.700. 8. Garry Denk, Northbrook, Ill., 103.500. 9. Chainey Umphrey, Albuquerque, N.M., 102.800. 10. David Kruse, Lompoc, Calif., 102.500. 11. Trent Wells, Keizer, Ore., 102.300. 11. Steve McCain, Houston, Texas, 102.150. 13. Aaron Cotter, Lincoln, Neb., 101.550. 14. Jamie Natalie, Wilmington, Del., 101.450. 15. Alex Chansky, Lexington, Mass., 101.050.