If it was indeed their last college gymnastics meet, then two MSU gymnasts may have saved their best for last at the NCAA men’s gymnastics championships.

Sophomore Brad Golden and junior Jonathan Plante earned All-American status by finishing in the top six in their events, which took place April 7 and 8.

Golden performed the feat twice, finishing second on the vault and third on the floor exercise, while Plante finished fifth on the pommel horse.

The only negative to their performances is it may have been their last as Spartans.

The athletics department decided to pull the plug on the program after this year and barring a reversal from the MSU Board of Trustees, both gymnasts will be unable to build on this year’s finishes in the future for MSU.

Golden said after competing at last year’s event and not placing very high, he was determined to have a better outing this year.

“Last year was just like a new thing and I was excited to be there,” he said. “This year I wanted to do a little better and see if I could get some hardware out of it.”

Golden said finishing first in both events did cross his mind during the competition, but he was still happy with where he placed.

“They’re really good competitors so just to be there and be in the awards ceremony is an honor in itself,” he said.

For Plante, his fifth-place finish in the pommel horse was a bit of a setback, given he was ranked No. 1 in the nation in the event entering the meet.

A slip and fall during his routine eliminated any hopes of a national title but Plante said he was still pleased to be an All-American.

“It’s just one of those things I can’t control,” he said. “It just happens and you can’t do very much about it.”

Plante compared competing at the NCAA meet to being at the USA Championships, the meet that determines which gymnasts represent the United States at the Olympics and World Championships, because of the cameras and loud crowd presence.

Despite the atmosphere, Plante said maintaining focus was essential throughout the meet.

“You’ve got to go out there and do your job,” he said. “You sort of wait until afterward for it to sink in.”

The individual competition was held one day after the team event, in which MSU finished sixth.

Both Golden and Plante said emotions were swelling after the team finished competition in April.

“Definitely, there were a lot of tears after the Friday competition,” Golden said. “That was it - that was the last time we were all going to compete together.”

Golden, from Orlando, Fla., said that scene was something he never thought would happen after committing to MSU.

“I definitely didn’t plan on that coming here,” he said. “I thought I’d have four years, but I ended up with two.”

Added Plante: “It wasn’t good to be in our corner afterward. The freshmen were upset and everyone else was upset. It’s just a hard thing to deal with.”

Head coach Rick Atkinson said a big reason for Golden’s and Plante’s success was new rule changes in gymnastics that were instituted after the 2000 Summer Olympics.

“The rule changes made gymnastics harder, and what they did, they separated themselves much better from the crowd because of it because they’re better gymnasts,” he said.

Both Golden and Plante have competed in gymnastics since they were very little. While Golden said he likes flipping and swinging around and hanging from bars, Plante said he loves the sport because of the traveling he’s done and people he’s met.

“It’s just a very different sport as a way of life,” he said. “If you do basketball in one city, you might just know maybe your team and maybe your local school, where as in this case for us, I know our state gymnasts that compete, but at the same time, I know the gymnasts in California (and) Seattle.”

If it is their final time competing in gymnastics at MSU, both will do the best they can to move on.

Golden said he might try another sport.

“I think I might try diving, I’m not sure,” he said.

Plante said he has talked to other Big Ten schools about transferring.

“It’s a matter of how many of my credits transfer,” he said. “I want to stay in the Big Ten - I like the Big Ten.”

Atkinson said the three All-American performances both gymnasts gave this year matched his previous 13 years of coaching, when he had only three All-American performances total.

Atkinson said whatever shakes out with the program, he expects things to work out for both Golden and Plante.

“Jon, he’ll end up somewhere after this and he’ll do fine and will probably be national champ next year somewhere in college,” he said. “Brad, as much talent and ability as he has, he just loves MSU. So I think he’s going to stay and I think he’s just going to finish his career with having a great 2001 nationals.”