UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — After helping the No. 1 Penn State men’s gymnastics team to the Navy Open title and winning the all around championship at the event, Trevor Howard (Columbus, Ohio) was named the conferences Freshman of the Week for the second straight week to begin his career.
Howard followed up his impressive collegiate debut with an even more impressive showing on the second weekend of the season, winning the all around title at the Navy Open. His mark of 86.150 in the all around ranks fourth nationally, behind a duo from Michigan and Eddie Penev from Stanford, as he cleared the field by over two points in Annapolis, Md.
The rookie finished second on the still rings and vault with a score of 15.100 on both apparatus and nabbed a runner-up showing on the parallel bars with a tally of 14.750. He claimed his fourth top-five finish of the meet with a 14.600 showing on the high bar as the anchor of the event. Limited by injury during his floor routine, Howard finished sixth overall with a mark of 14.200 and he scored 12.300 on the pommel horse.
Last week, Howard won the still rings and vault, while placing third on the parallel bars to earn the Big Ten’s initial Freshman of the Week award for the 2013 season. He currently owns the team’s highest marks in the all around and on the still rings this season, while ranking second on the team on the vault.
Penn State has won the Freshman of the Week award 12 times since the distinction was installed during the 2010 season, which is tied with Illinois for the most in Big Ten history. Howard is the fifth Nittany Lion to earn the award on multiple occasions and sixth overall to win the award, both the most of any Big Ten institution in men’s gymnastics.
The next test for the Blue and White will come in two weeks when they host Ohio State on Sat., Feb. 2. The meet is a double dual with the women’s team and will start at 7:00 inside Rec Hall.
