Five-time national champion Wilson finishes second

Day Three of Four

Cleveland – Olympian and World Championships silver medalist Paul Hamm (Waukesha, Wis.) defeated five-time national champion and two-time Olympian Blaine Wilson (Columbus, Ohio) and 2001 national champion and parallel bars world champion Sean Townsend (Houston, Texas) to win the coveted national all-around title at the 2002 U.S. Gymnastics Championships this evening at Gund Arena.
“Coming to the meet, it [winning] was my goal. It means a lot to me. I think in the future people are going to look up to me and not think of me as one of those young guys anymore,” said Hamm, 19, whose twin brother Morgan Hamm (Waukesha, Wis.) finished fourth, after missing the meet last year due to injury. Wilson finished second, 2.375 points behind Hamm. Guard Young (Norman, Okla.) finished third, while Townsend was fifth.
“Paul had a good meet. I wouldn’t have beat him anyway,” said Wilson, who competed with an injured knee.
Townsend, who was in third place after the preliminary competition on Wednesday, said of his performance, “This was a rough meet. I struggled through it, but I’ll come back next year and do better.”
In addition to the crowning of the national champion, the 2002-2003 U.S. Men’s Senior National Team was also named. The senior national team will consist of the following athletes:
Paul Hamm (Waukesha, Wis.)
Blaine Wilson (Columbus, Ohio)
Guard Young (Proud, Utah)
Morgan Hamm (Waukesha, Wis.)
Sean Townsend (Houston, Texas)
Justin Toman (Wallingford, Conn.)
Todd Thornton (Houston, Texas)
Brett McClure (Mill Creek, Wash.)
DJ Bucher (Mason, Ohio)
Clay Strother (Jasper, Texas)
Sanjuan Jones (Tallahassee, Fla.)
Raj Bhavsar (Houston, Texas)
Stephen McCain (Houston, Texas)