Five Illini advanced to the individual event finals Saturday, which featured the top eight gymnasts from the Big Ten on each apparatus.

The buzz around the Minnesota gym following the finals was that Illinois, despite finishing fifth in the team competition, was geared for big things. The Illini won more medals than any other Big Ten team in the individual event finals and had six top-three finishes.

“It was an all-Illini day,” head coach Yoshi Hayasaki said.

Junior Tyler Yamauchi was spectacular on vault as usual and earned the Big Ten title in the event. His performance on still rings earned him third place in the finals and helped solidify a spot on the First Team All-Conference. Junior Wes Haagensen was named to the team as well after finishing second on the high bar and parallel bars in the finals.

Freshman Chad Wiest had his best floor exercise of the season Saturday, narrowly missing the event crown by finishing second. Wiest posted a career-best 9.675 on the event, but Ohio State’s Eddie Hay earned the event title with a 9.825.

Junior Chris Silcox, a vocal leader for the Illini all season, was the Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winner. He also stuck his dismount on high bar to earn a third-place finish (9.250). Luke Stannard, the only other Illini to make it to the individual event finals, finished eighth in the pommel horse.

Overall, Hayasaki isn’t concerned about Friday’s fifth place team finish in the Big Ten Championship. While lower than some might expect, ahead of only Iowa, Hayasaki is focusing on the NCAAs now and how its Big Ten finish affects its placement.

“We’re more concerned with our total team score (211.900),” Hayasaki said. “Where we finished is not something that’s important to us. We’ll find out (Sunday night) when I get back when the scores are posted (where we’re placed for the NCAAs). If we can stay where we are, six or seventh, I think we’ll have a good grouping against some teams that we can beat.”

Focusing on the positives, Hayasaki said the Big Ten competition was a good test for the Illini’s younger gymnasts.

The Illini’s overall score, while not overwhelming, was in the range of what Hayasaki expected.

“We started off pretty well on high bar then we had a great day on floor as usual,” Hayasaki said. “It’s a strong event for us. But then we ran into some problems in pommel horse. We started to pick things up on rings and vault, but it wasn’t good enough to beat these ranked teams – that’s just the way it is.”

Over the weekend, the Illini turned their fair share of heads. Despite their team standing, Haagensen’s performances and the Illini’s dominance in the individual event finals has Hayasaki standing tall and proud of his team.

“For a team to place fifth and still get so much publicity and have all these accomplishments, it really says a lot,” he said.