The list of current NCAA gymnasts at least 6 feet tall remains at well over a dozen, as it always has since I started doing this five years ago. Limited to the information listed on the official team websites, the list would undoubtedly be larger, but not all teams list the gymnasts' heights. I'll gladly add more gymnasts to the list if anybody wishes to submit names and heights. [...more]
The 2013 Men's JO Nationals concluded with the Level 8/9 JE Division competition. It was technical sequences only for this session, which had many remarking that it looked like a virtual rerun of last fall's Future Stars Championships. Indeed, the winners of that competition ended up being crowned all-around champions at this meet. Davis Grooms, the 13-year-old Future Stars division champ, put together an outstanding set of routines today, scoring a minimum of 9.1-plus on all six events. His performance, on top of [...more]
Marvin Kimble put together two incredible days of powerhouse gymnastics, as he successfully defended his 2012 JO Nationals all-around championship. Day 1 was an incredible masterpiece, blowing up the scoreboard with a mind-boggling 94.05. Even Kohei Uchimura probably perked up after hearing the news. Day 2 was not quite as explosive, given the technical sequences format, but he performed the routines expertly to win the all-around by almost 7 points. Runner-up Yul Moldauer had a spectacular day, putting up a [...more]
Although it didn't quite generate the same fireworks as last night's Level 10 qualifier, Friday's Level 8 and Level 9 optional qualifier produced some historic results. It was the inaugural JO Nationals competition for the newly created age-specific Level 8 division. As it turns out, this was probably the new quad's best change. The Level 8 (age 11-12) division was partly created to increase participation at JO Nationals, and it certainly accomplishes moving more boys into the optional [...more]
It was quite an evening for Swiss Turners, who successfully defended their 2012 National Team Title at the 2013 Men's Jo Nationals in Portland, OR. That was icing on the cake for the team from West Allis, WI. Dmitri Belanovski (89.80) won his much anticipated battle (17-18 division) with Senior National Team member Akash Modi (89.25). Belanovski, just a few weeks ago, became a U.S. citizen, which makes him eligible to compete at the U.S. Championships for the first time in August. But the star of the day was his teammate, [...more]
