Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Mongolian student of the U.S. Niles West high school Nomundalai Jamiyankhuu won the all-around gymnastics championship title of Illinois State.

At the beginning of the boys’ gymnastics season, Niles West coach Adrian Batista said he didn't expect to have star junior Dalai Jamiyankhuu compete for the Wolves this season due to a cracked L5 vertebra in Nomundalai's back.

Not only did Nomundalai return, he won the state championship in the all-around at Hinsdale Central on May 15. He finished with 52.70 points, edging Wheaton Warrenville South senior Ben Szot (52.55).

Nomundalai led the Wolves to a third-place finish (149.00 points) in the team standings — which was Niles West's highest finish since 1975 — in just his fourth meet of the season.

"My first meet was the Niles North Invite [on Friday, April 24], and I only competed in" pommel horse, Nomundalai said. "It was not the best. It was very sloppy. ... I didn't think I'd be here right now, taking first place."

Despite the long layoff, many of Nomundalai's skills returned right away, he said, because he'd done them for so long and still had the muscle memory.

Nomundalai had to work hard to get others back in time for the state meet, he added. But there were a few — specifically the strength elements on still rings and his dismount on parallel bars, where he combines strength and swinging — that he still didn't have on Friday, May 15.

That was evident early on Nomundalai scored a 7.70 on still rings to start the meet. That immediately put him at a disadvantage.

"After the first event, I was down by two points," Nomundalai said. "And then I went to vault, did decent [scoring a 9.20] — but then came to [parallel] bars and fell on my dismount. I was very down and sad about that, but my teammates picked me up and said, 'No, you've got to keep going.' "

"Coach, he said some things to me" during that time, Nomundalai said. "I was like, 'You're right. It's not the end. We don't know what's going to happen until the end,' so then I gave it all I've got."

Nomundalai’s first event after that was high-bar — the apparatus on which he won a 2014 state title. Nomundalai scored a 9.2 on high bar to win the state championship last year, and he matched that on Friday night. His 9.2 was the best score on high bar of any gymnast competing in the all-around.

Nomundalai followed that with a 9.1 on floor exercise. Then, in his final event of the all-around, he scored a 9.05 on the pommel horse. He was the meet's lone all-arounder to score higher than 9.0 on pommel horse.

After pommel horse, Nomundalai's all-around score of 52.70 was posted on an overhead screen at Hinsdale Central. He then waited, watching the remaining gymnasts to see if it would hold up.

"I guess after falling a couple times, I was like, 'Well, it doesn't matter if I mess up, so I'm just going to be confident and I'm going to go for everything,” Nomundalai said. "I think, with that attitude, it made me more confident with my skills."

Nomundalai's return to Niles West late in the season helped elevate the Wolves from a solid team into one of the best in Illinois. Several gymnasts made strong contributions on Friday night, including junior Mitchell Byron, senior Jordan Goldberg and junior David Thai.

Nomundalai "hit, and the rest of the guys were consistent," Batista said. "That's what we've been doing."

Being part of the best team at Niles West since 1975, when the Wolves finished second in the state, was especially sweet for Goldberg.

"It's amazing," he said. "I didn't think this was possible. The fact that we got third is just amazing. It's the perfect way to end my gymnastics career."