The Nebraska men's gymnastics team announced their captain selections for the 2021 season. Coach Chuck Chmelka, who enters his 12th season, announced that the team and coaches voted this fall and selected Evan Hymanson, Griffin Kehler and Zach Peters to lead the team for the upcoming season.
Evan Hymanson enters his senior year as a leader in the gym and the classroom. Hymanson competed in the 2017 and 2019 NCAA Team Qualifier and Team Finals, helping the Huskers to a third place finish in 2019. Hymanson is also an eight-time member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll and a recipient of the Nebraska Gold Academic Medallion. The Big Ten Conference has also recognized his academic success earning Academic All-Big Ten and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors in 2018, 2019 and 2020. The College Gymnastics Association (CGA) has awarded Hymanson with CGA All-America Scholar-Athlete honors in 2017, 2019 and 2020. Most recently, Hymanson was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team. Hymanson competed regularly during the 2020 season earning three individual titles and two career-high scores before the season ended early due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Senior Griffin Kehler leads the team as a second-year captain. Kehler competed in 2018 and 2019 in the NCAA Team Qualifier and Team Finals, helping the Huskers to a third place finish in 2019 as well as earning All-America honors in 2018 for his performance on floor. Kehler has competed consistently since joining the Huskers in 2017 notching four individual titles. Kehler is also a leader outside of the gym earning a spot on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll three times as well as a spot on the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in 2018 and 2019.
Alongside Kehler and Hymanson, senior Zach Peters will lead the team as a second-year captain for the 2021 season. Peters has competed consistently for the Huskers since joining the team in 2017. Peters competed at the NCAA Team Qualifiers and Team Finals and helped the Huskers to a third place finish in 2019. Peters is also a leader outside of the gym. Peters is a three-time Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll selection, Nebraska Bronze Academic Medallion recipient, two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, and a three-time CGA All-America Scholar-Athlete honoree. Peters has also been recognized for his contributions to the Lincoln community earning a spot on the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Hymanson, Kehler and Peters hope to lead the team back to the NCAA Championship Finals after having the end of the 2020 season canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.