Fred Richard wins parallel bars, high bar, all-around NCAA titles

When the Michigan men’s gymnastic team won its third straight regular season Big Ten title on March 18, freshman Fred Richard wasn’t in the building.

In fact, he wasn’t even in the country. Richard was in Germany competing for Team USA as the Wolverines squared off against Illinois for the conference title. On Saturday, Michigan once again faced the Fighting Illini with hardware on the line. This time, Richard was in the lineup — and he made an impact.

In his first NCAA Championship, Richard won the parallel bars, high bar and all-around titles.

“College meets, energy wise, (are) just a whole different experience,” Richard said. “It’s so fun.”

Richard has been dominant all season. The true freshman was crowned the Big Ten all-around champion just a couple weeks prior, named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and owns the top score among Wolverines in three of the six events. Coming into the NCAA Championship, Richard was fresh off dominating performances in the NCAA Nationals Qualifier and the Big Ten Championship. 

After a career best on the floor, Richard stared down the pommel horse. Michigan ranks in the top four in the country in each event except pommel, where it is only eighth. Richard has been one of the Wolverines’ best performers in the event; his services were badly needed if Michigan looked to claim a national championship. He scored a 12.83. It was the lowest score among his teammates and third lowest of the event. 

“I didn’t know if I’d still win the (all-around) after the pommel,” Richard said.

But Richard bounced back strong. Despite his freshman status, Richard’s presence is mature. He has taken on a difficult role in his freshman year and, despite missing part of it competing overseas right before, led the Wolverines to a 20th Big Ten Championship.

“It’s not an easy job to be the all-around,” Michigan coach Yuan Xiao said.

And with the absence of last year’s all-around, senior Paul Juda, in 2023, Richard has had to step up into this already-difficult role in the shadow of a Nissen-Emery award recipient. 

At the root of this maturity is Richard’s routine, which borders on professional. The freshman doesn’t let vices get in the way of his performance on the floor and is clear about his intention to put gymnastics first.

“Some guys think their training is only the three hours, four hours that they’re in the gym but then they (start) eating bad food, not sleeping as well, partying,” Richard said. “… While (I’m) in college, still maintaining everything towards getting better at the sport, I think that mentality is what separates me.”

It was on Saturday, April 15, where that separation was evident. Despite an all-time low score in the pommel, Richard scored back to back 14.6s on the rings and vault. As he jumped up to the chalk-laden parallel bars, Michigan sat precariously in third; it had bounced back well in rings, but a low pommel score still rang softly in its ears. Richard eased the noise with a meet-high 15.000 on the parallel bars. The freshman had brought his team back into the top two, solidified his position at the top of the all-around charts and earned himself an NCAA championship for the event. 

As Fred Richard’s feet hit the mat for a final time, he had secured his second and third titles. His high bar routine anchored the Wolverines event, and while Richard’s 14.433 topped the meet, it wasn’t enough to vault Michigan past Stanford.

“I just felt super proud,” Richard said. “All five of us on our high bar rotation did amazing.”

Richard’s high bar performance is not only indicative of his ability to make in-meet adjustments, but to redeem himself from previous meets’ mistakes. Friday, in NCAA Qualifiers, he had fallen on high bar. Saturday, he was the high bar champion.

“(The high bar score) is like a redemption moment,” Richard said.

The freshman ended with a score of 85.998, clearing his nearest competitor by more than two points. Despite an uncharacteristic pommel horse, Richard became the 14th Michigan gymnast to be crowned the all-around champion, and third to take home three championships in one night. 

Despite a late, valiant push, the Wolverines finished second overall behind Stanford on Saturday. 

But freshman Fred Richard is a national champion.