2010 Hall of Fame Inductee

Throughout his college and professional career, 2004 Olympic silver medalist Guard Young demonstrated a relentless pursuit of excellence as a national champion and six-time All-American at BYU.

After high school Young made a difficult decision by passing up attending his hometown's University of Oklahoma to join the Cougars. By coming to BYU he was able to follow in the footsteps of his father, Wayne, and continue a family tradition. Young's father was a BYU gymnast who later became BYU's head men's coach from 1979-87. Wayne is also a member of the BYU Athletic Hall of Fame, the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame and an Olympian who represented America in 1976.

While attending BYU from 1996-00, Guard was a six-time NCAA All-American. During his junior year, Young won the NCAA Championship in the vault and repeated as vault champion his senior year.

Young was a three-time member of Team USA at the World Championships and contributed to a team silver medal in 2001. He was also a member of the 2004 Olympic Team that won the silver medal in Athens. Remarkably, Young was a member of the USA National Gymnastics Team for 10 years.

Following a competitive career, Young judged NCAA men's gymnastics meets and other national events. He also participated as a USA Gymnastics junior boys clinician and mentor. Additionally Guard has served as a representative on the Governor's Fitness Council of California and frequently speaks at community clubs, schools, and other youth events.

After earning a degree in journalism at BYU, Young worked as an assistant coach for Oklahoma's men's gymnastics team, helping the Sooners to be one of the NCAA most-decorated programs. In nine seasons at OU, he was part of four NCAA championship teams (2002, 2003, 2005, 2015) and five NCAA runner-up teams (2001, 2004, 2012, 2013, 2014).

In 2007, Young founded Youngsters, Inc., a children's gymnastics center in Yuba City, California, which focuses on physical development and building self-confidence.

He was hired as the BYU women's gymnastics coach in 2015.

Young graduated from BYU in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications with an emphasis in broadcast journalism. He and his wife, Alisha, have two sons - Tyler (7) and Jaxson (4), and a daughter, Hadley.

Personal

• B.A. from BYU in communications with an emphasis in broadcast journalism, 2001
• Married to Alisha with three children
• Son of former BYU hall of fame athlete Wayne Young

Career Highlights

National

• Two-time individual National Champion on vault
• Two-time All-American in the all-around and on vault
• Earned All-American status on high bar and floor as a junior
• Qualified to compete in the NCAA finals all four years of collegiate career
• Competed on parallel bars as a freshman
• Competed with a badly sprained ankle as a sophomore
• Placed first on vault, second on floor, fifth on high bar and fifth in the all-around as a junior
• Placed first on vault and second in the all-around, seventh on pommel horse and eighth on parallel bars as a senior
• Ranked 11th nationally on parallel bars, 19th on floor and 20th in the all-around as a freshman
• Started junior season ranked 10th in the nation
• Placed 10th overall at the 1998 USA Championships, placing fourth on pommel horse
• Placed fourth in the all-around at the USA National Championships as a junior
• One of ten candidates for the Nissen-Emery Award (given to the nation’s top collegiate male gymnast)

Regional

• Finished 16th at the NCAA West Regional competition as a freshman
• Earned the NCAA West Regional title on parallel bars as a sophomore
• Was the West Regional champion on parallel bars as a sophomore and came second in the all around

Conference

• Placed third on parallel bars and fourth in the all-around at the MPSF championships as a sophomore
• Won the vault and floor titles at MPSF Championships as a senior and placed second in the all-around

BYU

• Recorded BYU’s best all-around score (56.9) as a freshman
• Held or shared BYU records on four events (floor exercise, pommel horse, vault and parallel bars) during his career
• Along with fellow teammate Bramwell, was the first Cougar to ever win an NCAA individual event title

Before BYU

• Oklahoma State Champion in 1996
• U.S. Junior National Champion in 1996
• Finished first at the 1996 U.S.A. Nationals 18-under Division

After BYU

• Three-time member of Team USA at the World Championships
• Member of the 2004 Olympic Team
• Member of the USA National Gymnastics Team for 10 years
• Individual Event World Championships team member in 2002
• Worked as an assistant coach for the University of Oklahoma Men’s Gymnastics Team
• Founded Youngsters, Inc., a children’s gymnastics center in Yuba City, California

Post BYU Honors and Societies

• Earned a team Silver Medal with Team USA at the World Championships 2001
• Placed second on pommel horse and third in the all-around at the 2002 U.S. National Championships
• Placed second on parallel bars at the 2003 U.S. National Championships
• Won a Silver Medal in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens
• Won three different national titles during his tenure at the University of Oklahoma
• Inducted into the BYU Hall of Fame 2010