A perfect 10 was scored in Saturday night's men's gymnastics meet. Unfortunately for the Lions, (10-4), who downed the University of Pittsburgh 270.25-258.05, it didn't count.

Former All-American and present Assistant Coach Randy Jepson was pressed into action after a cable on the still rings pulled loose at the end of freshman Wayne Cowden's routine. Although the mishap occurred in the midst of Cowden's dismount, he was not injured and scored a career high 9.60.

"They didn't just give him that 9.60 because the rings fell down" Coach Karl Schier said. "It was a great set."

After the apparatus was repaired, Jepson, a Penn State graduate and NCAA finalist on rings, clad in his dress pants, dress shirt, and socks, performed a mini-routine to test the safety of the rings. For his efforts, not to mention courage, the judges awarded Jepson a mock perfect score.

"I would rather not have jumped up there in that sense," Jepson said. "It wasn't how I ever planned to make a return appearance to Rec Hall. But, I would prefer it to be myself up there trying the equipment out rather than someone else on the other team or our team.

"I don't know about that ten, though."

Cowden somehow managed to land his dismount and even took first place honors in the event.

"It felt a little strange when I heard everything," Cowden said. "When I landed I was a little hesitant. I didn't know what was going on and I thought the rings were going to fall on my head."

Cowden and his death-defying dismount somewhat stole the limelight from Kurt Schier. Schier, the team captain and lone senior on the team, was honored with a partial standing ovation prior to the meet and presented with a blanket from his mother, father and coach Karl, and Jepson.

Schier completed his last routine in Rec Hall -- oddly enough on the still ring, scoring a 9.50.

"I was sad to see Kurt leave," sophomore Jamie Downer said. "He's an incredible guy and a great, tremendous friend. I'm glad I was on his team and I'll be sorry to see him go.

"I wish he had stuck his dismount, but he went out on a good note."

Downer, who finished third in the all-around (54.85) had reason to be pleased with himself as well. He finished third on the floor exercise (9.30), second on parallel bars (9.35), and third on the high bar. (9.10).

Downer, however, said that he resorted to rituals in order to guarantee a solid performance.

"I found my lucky shorts at home," Downer said. "I was given a new pair this year. But last year, I did pretty well -- I was consistent. So, I had to try the shorts out once I found them."

Sophomore Adam Carton claimed top honors in the all-around, scoring a 56.85. Despite a dislocated toe, Carton placed among the top four in all of the six events. The four-time Maryland state all-around champion took first place in the floor exercise with a 9.40, vault, 9.30, parallel bars, 9.65 and horizontal bar, 9.50. Carton also finished second to teammate Mark Sohn (9.75) on pommel horse with a 9.50 and tied teammate Mike Reichenbach for fourth on still rings with a 9.30.

For his solid performances, Carton received the Wettstone Award.

"All the way around the horn, Adam had a big improvement tonight," Coach Schier said. "His toe dislocated again tonight. That's the third time it's happened to him.

"You have to give him credit for what he's doing. He can't hold form as well as he'd like to and his landings are a little rough. All things considered, I think he did very well."

While Schier completed his Rec Hall career, Chris Keller made his debut. The freshman has been battling Epstein-Barr mononucleosis since the fall and has recently begun to compete again. In his first meet at Rec Hall, Keller scored an 8.7 on floor exercise and an 8.75 on vault.

Coach Schier hopes that Keller may be able to compete on other events and fill some of the weaker spots for the team.

Before the meet began, the Lions learned their berth into the NCAA championships was secured. Eastern rival Navy completed its season Friday night and did not beat Penn State's season average of 271.71.

"We have to work on our momentum, but otherwise we did pretty well," the younger Schier said. "We had a week off and everyone needs to get back into the swing of things. From here on in, we're going to have to really concentrate on what we're doing."