Opening up its 1989 home season with a flash, the men's gymnastics team (3-1) claimed top honors in its first tri-meet of the season Friday night. The Lions, with a score of 268.20, easily downed Southern Connecticut (244.70) and East Stroudsburg (224.45).

"To be honest, I didn't think that we'd be this close to a 270 in the second meet of the season," Coach Karl Schier said. "From what I've seen around the country, that score puts us in the running almost anywhere. The highest score I've seen was a 271.

"We're encouraged by that right now, probably falsely. We still have a long way to go from what I'll be satisfied with. I know we can do a lot better but that's with time. Right now I'm pleased with what we're doing."

Sophomore Adam Carton claimed his second all-around title with a score of 56.20. Carton, who paced the Lions last year with eight titles, continues to star, winning the all-around in both meets for the Lions.

Carton nabbed the No. 1 spot on still rings (9.55), vault (9.5) and parallel bars (9.5) while taking second honors on pommel horse (9.4).

Carton's only break of the evening occurred on floor exercise. He tried a double front somersault for the first time this season but was unable to stick his landing. His score was still an impressive 9.05 due to the difficulty of the routine.

"Adam's routines all the way through the meet, I thought were super," Schier said. "Other than (floor) he really had a perfect night. He's looking really good, overall."

Mark Sohn lived up to his national championship ranking, winning the pommel horse with 9.65.

"I did well, but I had a couple of breaks that I didn't expect to have," Sohn said. "The whole routine was kind of shaky. But I'm happy for the team. We did a great job tonight and that's always the main goal."

The still rings routine by captain Kurt Schier was a pleasant surprise for the Lions. Schier, who injured his Achilles tendon last week, was not expected to perform against SConn and Stroudsburg, but the senior not only competed, he scored a 9.45, a second-place finish.

"Kurt's routine took a little courage to do, especially the dismount," the elder Schier said. "He actually stuck the dismount, too. I know it cost a little bit of pain so I'm really proud of him. He didn't hold back, that's the biggest dismount that we use."

The younger Schier said that the Rec Hall crowd gave him some much-needed inspiration.

"I was extremely nervous, but that gave me some energy toward the end of my routine," he said. "I almost started laughing at one point. I almost missed a (trick) but then the crowd got behind me and that really helped me out a lot."

Schier said that he did not re-injure the ankle and that he might be able to compete on floor exercise next week.

Two other gymnasts, freshmen Wayne Cowden and Mike Reichenbach, benefitted from the home crowd. Both described Rec Hall as 'incredible' and said that they look forward to their next home meet.

Cowden finished second on the high bar with a 9.35 and fourth on rings with a 9.2.

"I had a fairly good meet," he said. "But I blew two events. The breaks that I had were rare; they shouldn't have happened. I haven't missed my pommel horse set in a week, but I blew it today. I'm coming back stronger next week."

Reichenbach, who finished third last week in the all-around competition, continued to impress, finishing third on vault (9.2) and parallel bars (8.95) while turning in a 9.15 on high bar.

"Reichenbach really finished the meet exceptionally well," Schier said. "He really did an excellent job all night long, but especially parallel bars and high bar were very good."

The Lions also got strong showings from junior Karl Abraham and freshman Doug Wilson. Abraham turned in his best score on high bar with a 9.25, good for third place. He also finished third on pommel horse (8.95) and fourth on vault (9.15).

"I was glad about pommel horse because that's always my most nervous event," Abraham said. "But, I got out there and pounded it out pretty well. I was disappointed about my parallel bar dismount but I think I made up for it on high bar. I guess I was rather pleased overall. I felt a lot better tonight than I did last week."

Wilson, a walk-on, filled the spot made absent due to Schier's injury. He competed on floor exercise where he earned a 8.0 and vault (8.75).

"We threw him out first man up on floor and vault and he did a sensational job for us," Schier said. "He comes from a very small club and he just doesn't have the experience but he competes well. We get excited about stuff like that."