Ohio State gymnasts selected to USA National Team

After a weekend of intense competition in Kansas City, Missouri, two Ohio State athletes were selected to the USA National Team. Redshirt senior Sean Melton and alumnus Alec Yoder earned their spots on the squad. The pair will continue to compete for spots on Team USA’s Tokyo 2020 roster. Melton finished the weekend eighth-overall with an all-around score of 81.950, while Yoder, who finished 15th, posted an all-around score of 78.550.

Melton is a 10-time All-American for his performances on all around (3), high bar (3), rings (2) vault and parallel bars. He also holds an NCAA record for parallel bars with a score of 16.175. Yoder, meanwhile, is an eight-time All-American in all around (3), pommel horse (3), parallel bars and rings.

The gymnastics team received other good news over the weekend as the men’s team finished fifth in the Collegiate Gymnastics Association’s National Academic Team Champions Ranking. The roster finished with a cumulative 3.177 grade point average, with 10 gymnasts receiving individual recognition for their academic performance this past year. Two gymnasts, Curtis Chang and Joey Wilmot, finished the year with a 4.0 GPA.

Fall sports prepare to open their seasons

Women’s soccer hosted its first training sessions of the year last week. Starting Tuesday, the team conducted fitness training and testing as it prepares to open up its 2019 campaign against Louisville Aug. 22 in Columbus. Ohio State finished with a 9-6-4 overall record in 2018, including a 6-2-3 mark in Big Ten play. After finishing third in the conference last season, they made the NCAA Tournament for the fourth-straight season. Heading into 2019, the Buckeyes bring back six starters -- including 91 percent of their scoring offense from last season, Among this group are three members of the Big Ten All-Freshman team and last year’s first team All-Big Ten selection Izzy Rodriguez. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes will not return Devon Kerr, who took home Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year honors in 2018.

Also kicking things off for the fall is the field hockey team. Not only are they prepping for their season opener Aug. 17 vs. Ohio University in Columbus, they’re also hosting open practices with the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. These practices, scheduled at Ohio State from Aug. 23-Sept. 1, bring NFHCA members, including high school and club coaches, together to learn from collegiate programs. The Buckeyes finished last season with a 12-8 record, including a 4-4 record in the Big Ten.

Missed the latest edition of Outside the Shoe?

On Friday, another edition of Outside the Shoe was released. This week, the focus is on the women’s soccer team as they prepare to start their season. Geoff Hammersley and I preview the season opener against Louisville, and take a look around the Big Ten and college soccer circuit.

To listen to the podcast episode, you can click here. To subscribe and share, you can click on the embed below.

This week, another episode will drop at 12:01 a.m. ET Friday. This week, we’ll preview OSU men’s soccer

Buckeyes heating up on the ice

The start of the collegiate hockey season might still be a few months away, but junior forward Emma Maltais is keeping things going through the summer after she was selected to Canada’s National Women’s Development Team, which is scheduled to play a three-game series against the U.S. this week. Maltais is one of just 23 players chosen by Hockey Canada from the Team Canada Summer Showcase. Over the course of the camp, the selection process featured intrasquad games along with matches against international competition. The Canadian team is scheduled to play the U.S. women’s team in Lake Placid, New York Aug. 14-17.

On the men’s hockey side, the program announced its 2020 opener, scheduled to take place at the Fortress Invitational in Las Vegas, hosted by the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Ohio State is scheduled to face off against Cornell Jan. 3. Army and Providence are also playing in the tournament. The Buckeyes will have a personal connection with the hosts, as freshman defenseman Layton Ahac was drafted by the Knights in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Ahac, along with current Buckeye Gustaf Westland, participated in Las Vegas’ development camp this past summer. Ohio State is coming off a wildly-successful season, in which they won the Big Ten regular season title and made it to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth-straight season.

On another note, the men’s hockey team also received their Big Ten Championship rings over the weekend after sealing their first conference tournament title in program history this past season.