Nov. 17, 2011

University of Minnesota’s men’s gymnastics head coach Mike Burns announced this week that Daniel DiBinedetto (Vernon, CT) and Paul Montague Jr. (Hartland, WI) have signed National Letters of Intent to compete with the Golden Gophers. DiBinedetto and Montague will join the team next fall.

DiBinedetto will graduate from Rockville High School this spring. He competed at the Junior Olympic Nationals from 2009-2011, finishing third on high bar in 2009 and first in 2011. In 2010 he was named an Academic All-American. He competed at the 2011 Visa Championships, where he placed second on high bar, third on the still rings, and fifth in the all-around.

DiBinedetto competes for Tim Daggett Gold Medal Gymnastics. He is the 2011 all-around state and regional champion.

“Signing Danny DiBenedetto is a great move for the Gopher Program. A member of the Junior National Team, Danny will be a great addition to our team next year and in the years to come,” Burns said. “He competed this past summer in St. Paul at the 2011 VISA Championships where he finished fifth in the all-around with a combined score of 159.45. He also finished second on the high bar and third on the still rings, which are two events we were looking at heavily in the recruiting process.”

Montague will graduate from Arrowhead High School this spring. He is the 2011 state champion on pommel horse and vault. He placed second on parallel bars and in all-around and finished third on the still rings. Montague was the still ring champion at last year’s regional meet. In 2010 he was the state champion on the still rings. He finished second in the all-around competition of that meet as well as on pommel horse, vault, parallel bars, and high bar. He has competed at the Junior Olympic Nationals the last two years and finished sixth on the still rings in 2011.

Montague trains with Swiss Turners Gymnastics, club of current Minnesota gymnast Steve Jaciuk and former gymnast Ali Aleiou. He has finished first at both the state and regional meets for the previous five years and was a member of the 2011 Junior Olympics Nationals second place team.

“We are thrilled to have another member of our team from the Swiss Turner Gymnastics Club,” Burns said. “Paul was a finalist on the still rings at the 2011 Junior National Championships last spring. Paul also attended our summer camp last year and we got a chance to find out what a great person he is during that week of camp. I see a bright future for Paul with the Gophers.”

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