Iowa men competing in NCAA gymnastics qualifier - KWWL.com

The Iowa Men's Gymnastics team will be competing in the national qualifier in Norman, Oklahoma on Thursday.

Iowa will be competing against teams from Michigan, Illinois, Penn State, Stanford, Minnesota, Ohio State, Temple, Nebraska and Air Force for three spots in the finals.

In addition to the top three teams, the top three all-around competitors not on a qualifying team and the top three individuals not on a qualifying team, will make the finals which will be held April 21 and 22 in Norman.

Six competitors in the NCAA tournament are also current members of the U.S. national team. So, for a few days at least, gymnasts such as Jake Dalton from Oklahoma and Glen Ishino of California will focus on an NCAA trophy rather than Team USA.

While gymnastics remains one of the marquee events at the Olympics, the college side of the sport is struggling. The 17 NCAA teams nearly shrank by one last year when Cal moved to drop its program to a club sport before a fundraising campaign saved it, at least temporarily.