WILLIAMSBURG, Va.—Having established himself as one of the nation's elite gymnasts during his collegiate career, William & Mary standout Christian Marsh was selected as one of eight finalists for the 2023 College Gymnastics Association Nissen Emery Award. The honor is considered the Heisman Trophy of Gymnastics.
 
Joining Marsh as finalists are Brandon Briones (Stanford), Chase Clingman (Penn State), Spencer Goodell (Oklahoma), Paul Juda (Michigan), Riley Loos (Stanford), Donte McKinney (Nebraska) and Ian Skirkey (Illinois).
 
One of the Tribe's top gymnasts throughout his career, Marsh competed in the 2022 NCAA Championships Finals on rings and parallel bars after qualifying for the national meet as an all-arounder. He also qualified for the NCAA Championships Finals on rings in 2021.
 
Marsh's outstanding 2022 campaign also saw him win the ECAC title on rings with a career-high 14.45 and earn USA Gymnastics Collegiate All-America honors in all-around and on parallel bars.
 
A six-time USAG Collegiate All-American, Marsh also earned All-America Scholar-Athlete distinction three times, twice garnering first-team accolades.
 
Elected as one of the Tribe's team captains and as a Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) member, Marsh was the recipient of W&M's prestigious Cypher Award, which is given to no more than 40 graduating students each year whose contributions reflect the primary values of the university - belonging, curiosity, excellence, flourishing, integrity, respect and service.
 
An exceptional student, Marsh earned his undergraduate degree in government and is currently in his first year of Law School.
 
Marsh becomes the 10th Tribe men's gymnast to be selected as a finalist for the prestigious award, as the list includes David Williams (1992), Sabronzik Wright (1995), Scott McCall (1997), Jamie Northrup (2004), Ramon Jackson (2006), Derek Gygax (2010), Landon Funiciello (2014), Neal Courter (2017) and Jacopo Gliozzi (2019).
 
This year's Nissen-Emery Award will be announced at the NCAA Championship Banquet, which will be hosted by Penn State.
 
The highest honor in collegiate gymnastics, the Nissen Emery Award has been presented annually since 1966 to an outstanding senior collegiate gymnast based on his achievement, sportsmanship and academic excellence.
 
The original Nissen Award was named in honor of George Nissen, a former NCAA champion, for his contributions to men's gymnastics. The honor was renamed the Nissen-Emery Award in 1998 to honor Dr. Robert Emery, a Penn State graduate, who won the Nissen Award in 1969.