BERKELEY – With six newcomers on the roster, the Bears relied on its youth to make immediate contributions in the season opening Cal Benefit Cup at the RSF Gymnasium on Saturday night against visiting No. 2 Stanford.
 
Freshman Darren Wong stepped up to the challenge in his collegiate debut to lead a pair of events for Cal and finish fourth in the all-around competition with a 77.700.
 
A Vancouver native, Wong recorded a 12.750 on the pommel horse to lead the Bears through some difficulty on the apparatus as three gymnast slipped off during their routine chipping away at the team score a bit. Wong again posted a team high on the vault, Cal's top apparatus of the night. He recorded a 14.050 as three of the four top scores for the Bears were from freshmen.
 
"He's a very clean gymnast and beautiful to watch," said head coach JT Okada. "He's learning what it's like to compete in college. It's a transition for most people, but he's impressing us more and more each day and I think he's impressing himself. The future is really bright for him."
 
As a team, the Bears punctuated the end of the night as the last four in the rotation hit their high bar routines anchored by senior Aaron Mah's team-best 13.500 to tie with the Cardinal's David Jessen for the event title.

"He brings in this veteran experience and he knows that there will be mistakes," Okada said. "You have to reset after each event. After three disappointing events for himself, to hit two strong routines on p-bars and high bar is what being a veteran is all about."
 
Unfortunately, that would not be enough to overcome a significant deficit after the second rotation and Cal fell 411.250-392.350.
 
"It's always good to end on a high note," said Okada. "This was a strong start for us. A lot of things were not perfect, but to come out of the gates with a score and performance like this and battle back at the end, shows this team is capable of a lot. We just need to get back into the gym and address a couple of key areas and we'll be back out here doing even better next time."
 
Redshirt senior Mitchell Awisus matched his season best 13.800 on the parallel bars to open his final season to lead Cal.
 
Sophomore Shane Sadighi led the Bears on floor, matching his career best in his 2019 debut with a 13.950 to help Cal hold a 67.600-64.400 edge after the opening rotation.
 
The Aliso Viejo, Calif., native kept the excitement after hitting on rings to pick up another strong score (13.550) for the Bears on the night. But it was ring specialist and senior Harrison Plate that would anchor with a big routine and top score for the Bears posting a 13.700 to finish third overall. Kyte Crigger (12.600) led things off by sticking a dismount on the rings to help build momentum.
 
Cal will pay a visit to the Cardinal next week for the Stanford Open on Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. (PT). The meet will be live streamed on GoStanford.com.
 
For more information on Cal men's gymnastics, follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @CalMGym.