When Chris Lakeman decided to come to Penn State four years ago, he did not have a spot on the gymnastics team.

Saturday night, he earned an NCAA title on the rings.

"What can you say about it?" he said. "It's too overwhelming."

It was the ultimate culmination for the senior, who has been first on the apparatus most of the year.

He competed seventh in the ring rotation and his score of 9.550 put him atop the scoreboard. But Oklahoma's Brett Covey — who beat Lakeman earlier this year and had tied him both days of the competition in Columbus — was next.

"I was watching Covey and he seemed shaky, maybe a little nervous," Lakeman said.

Covey's score flashed, and it put him in third.

Ohio State's Daren Lynch, who had beaten Lakeman once during the weekend, was up next. And he had the home crowd behind him.

"I'm crouching down near the rings," Lakeman said. "And I'm squeezing Dom Brindle's ankle. We're watching the routine and getting more and more into it. Every skill, I'm just squeezing that much harder."

Then Lynch fell on his dismount.

"He fell, and then I fell to the ground, too," Lakeman said. "I stood up, looked at Dom and we didn't even say anything. It was just a silent recognition."

"And then we squeezed the hell out of each other."

Lakeman was overwhelmed by teammates and well-wishers, then whisked off the floor, called out to receive his plaque and taken back to a large media gathering.

"That part was new to me," he said. "They took a lot of pictures and I was running around talking to all these people. I didn't have much time to think about what had just happened."

Lakeman is Penn State's 45th individual champion, the most of any school.

"Chris has done everything he needed to do to win," Nittany Lion coach Randy Jepson said. "He just had a superior routine this year."

Brindle capped his Penn State career with a surprise All-American standing on vault. His 9.250 was good for third on the event. Brindle has previously earned All-American honors on high bar and rings.

"Throughout his career here, Dom has always been ready at the end," Jepson said. "I thought he should have been in the event finals for high bar, too, but for him to come out and get the job done on vault was very special."

Jay Kim also earned All-American honors on vault, scoring a 9.125 and placing fifth. Kim did not contribute much early in the season, but came on late.

"He was inconsistent at first," Jepson said. "But within the last three weeks he has developed a new confidence and worked very hard."

Kevin Tan, perhaps Penn State's brightest young gymnast, finished fourth on the rings with a 9.400. The freshman only arrived in January and has adjusted quickly to both the higher academic and athletic standards.

"Kevin Tan is just going to take off," Jepson said. "He's willing to make sacrifices to be on top and he knows where he is heading. That's something we usually only see in juniors and seniors."

Lakeman is case in point. Coming out of high school, his goal was merely to practice and compete in gymnastics.

"I was awful coming out of high school," he said. "But when I got here, I wanted to stay on the team, so I just worked. I realized things each year, and set higher goals."

Jepson had his doubts at first, but as he watched Lakeman progress through the years, he saw something special happening.

"I'll probably pull out his recruit tape later this week," he said. "Then maybe I'll realize just how far he has come."