CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI -- Alberta's Jackson Payne won the all-around and finished with the top scores on three events on the first night of senior men's competition at the Canadian Championships.
Payne, one of only 17 men to compete all six events, posted the highest scores of the competition on floor (14.8), high bar (14.6) and pommel horse (14.55) to top Halifax's Hugh Smith and former Penn State star Casey Sandy.
Reigning men's champion Nathan Gafuik scratched from the competition after a weak start on pommel horse (11.6).
Saskatchewan teammates Jayd Lukenchuk and Anderson Loren finished fourth and fifth, respectively, while first-year seniors Robert Watson and Tariq Dowers, second and third in the junior division last year, finished seventh and eighth.
Olympian Brandon O'Neill, a former World medalist on floor, finished with the highest scores of the evening on vault (15.85) and parallel bars (15.05). Ontario's Kevin Lytwyn was the top qualifier to event finals on rings (14.6).
British Columbia's Scott Morgan only competed three events (floor, rings, vault) but was among the top three on all of them. Veteran Ken Ikeda meanwhile finished tied for second on his specialty, parallel bars.
Prince Edward Island's Scott Chandler, 36, finished 14th all-around. Chandler, the Espen Jansen of Canadian gymnastics, was jokingly honored as the "oldest person ever to compete at a Canadian Nationals" during Tuesday's opening ceremonies.
Related: For complete results from the men's competition, please visit Gym Score Depot.
Here's a list of men's event finals qualifiers:
Floor:
- 1. Jackson Payne
- 2. Hugh Smith
- 3. Soctt Morgan
- 3. Brandon O'Neill
- 5. Kevin Lytwyn
- 5. Robert Watson
- 7. Casey Sandy
- 8. Jayd Lukenchuk
Pommel horse:
- 1. Jackson Payne
- 2. Casey Sandy
- 3. Anderson Loren
- 4. Jayd Lukenchuk
- 5. Tariq Dowers
- 6. Ken Ikeda
- 7. Hugh Smith
- 7. Jason Scott
Rings:
- 1. Kevin Lytwyn
- 2. Scott Morgan
- 2. Hugh Smith
- 4. Jason Scott
- 5. Matthieu D'Amour
- 6. Tariq Dowers
- 7. Casey Sandy
- 8. Jackson Payne
- 8. Anderson Loren
Vault:
- 1. Brandon O'Neill
- 2. Hugh Smith
- 3. Scott Morgan
- 4. Jayd Lukenchuk
- 5. Ken Ikeda
- 6. Casey Sandy
- 6. Tariq Dowers
- 8. Jackson Payne
Parallel bars:
- 1. Brandon O'Neill
- 2. Ken Ikeda
- 2. Jackson Payne
- 4. Hugh Smith
- 5. Casey Sandy
- 6. Jayd Lukenchuk
- 7. Kevin Lytwyn
- 8. Anderson Loren
High bar:
- 1. Jackson Payne
- 2. Casey Sandy
- 3. Jayd Lukenchuk
- 4. Robert Watson
- 5. Anderson Loren
- 6. Brandon O'Neill
- 7. Hugh Smith
- 8. Jason Scott
Gymnastics Examiner Blythe Lawrence will be at the Canadian Championships this week in Charlottetown, PEI. Stay tuned for notes, quick hits from the competition floor, videos and interviews from the Canadian Championships all week, and/or follow The Gymnastics Examiner on Facebook or Twitter.
Comments