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A few years after the University of Minnesota eliminated men's gymnastics, former Gophers star Shane Wiskus stuck the landing on his vault, turned to a far corner of an arena in Minneapolis and heard his teammates singing "The Rouser" and spelling the state name.
A bunch of gymnasts who hung out in Dinkytown were sitting in Section 114 of Target Center during the United States gymnastics Olympics trials in men's gymnastics on Saturday, wearing, "I'm with Wiskus" T-shirts.
A man without a team?
Hardly.
A man without an Olympic berth?
Strangely, yes.
Wiskus, a Minnesota native and a 2021 Olympian in Tokyo, had about 20 former Gophers gymnasts supporting him during the Olympic trials on Saturday. He produced the third-best overall score of the two-day competition. He was not named to the five-man Olympic team, although he will travel to Paris as an alternate.
Raising the question: Ski-U-Huh?
The trials on Saturday were more thrilling than logical. Actual overall performances are only a part of the formula for choosing the Olympic team, along with, it seems, a Ouija Board, advanced calculus and some form of astrology.
Wiskus, 25, performed passionately, stirring the crowd during each of his routines. He performed well, finishing behind only budding superstar Frederick Richard and longtime American star Brody Malone in the overall standings.
Why didn't he make the team?
Brett McClure, the high-performance director for Team USA, explained: "We looked at all-around scores across all four days. … We looked at individual medal potential, strengths and weaknesses of the current team, where we would need help, potentially."
Thus, pommel horse specialist Stephen Nedoroscik made the team and Wiskus didn't, a move that seems equally unfair, odious and logical. Nedoroscik theoretically has a better chance to medal in Paris in his one event than Wiskus would in any event, which could lead to a higher overall team score.
"It's tough," Wiskus said in a back hallway of the Target Center. "They haven't given us even a second to process anything."
How did he feel about it? "Numb," he said. "I had the best two days of competition of my life, so … I feel like I deserved it.''
His consolation prize was a rare occurrence: Eliciting standing ovations in his home state.
"I'll remember that forever," he said. "I'll remember this experience forever. Probably my last gymnastics meet of my life. So what better way to end than at home and with two of the best competitions of my entire life."
Did he hear "The Rouser"? "I did," he said.
Did he hear the slow-then-accelerating clapping as he sped toward his vault?
"That's something we used to do at Minnesota," he said. "The slow clap and then speeding up as you run down to do your vault.''
The best moment of his week? "Sticking the vault," he said.
Former Gophers gymnasts Andre Berry (class of 2010) and Timmy Kutyla (class of 2020) were in a group of friends sitting in Section 114.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing," Berry said. "And he's killing it."
"He's performing to the best of his abilities," Kutyla said. "So if it's not in his hands, he did the best he could."
"This is about family," Berry said. "The Gophers family."
"There are guys here who graduated in 2021 and 2022," Kutyla said.
"All the way down to John Roethlisberger," Berry said.
Roethlisberger, the former Gophers star and three-time Olympian, was at Target Center working as an analyst for NBC and providing a reminder that the University of Minnesota administration killed a program capable of making history.
Wiskus might be writing the last chapter. The disappointment he expressed is justified, but he will be remembered as an Olympian who starred at the best gymnastics event ever held in Minnesota.
"Having my team here means the world to me," he said. "I had a lot of family and a lot of friends out there. I hope I made them proud. It was a helluva ride."
