It came down to parallel bars and rings for Adrian De Los Angeles and Jake Martin, respectively. De Los Angeles had a scant lead of .35 points going into the final rotation. With both events being very strong for both gymnasts, it was a breathtaking spectacle. Martin went first and posted a respectable 14.60 on rings. De Los Angeles then proceeded with a clutch performance on one of his better events. His 15.05 was not only the highest score on that event, but it was more than enough to [...more]
StickItMedia is pleased to have Nicholas Bock as our guest blogger. Bock is a devoted gym dad to two young men who train under Coach Guonian Wu at New Hope Gymnastics in Fountain Valley, CA. Young Evan is a Level 6 and was the 2010 Region I Future Stars champion in the 9-year-old division. Cameron is a Level 9 and a member of the Future Stars National Development Team. This past summer, the Bock family traveled to China with Coach Wu to receive a personal and hands-on experience at a Chinese gymnastics school.
Nicholas thoroughly describes for us what a typical day is like for young Chinese gymnasts, who have been selected to [...more]
Today, in a spineless, bull-headed and ultimately sexist decision, Cal’s powers-that-be formally took a guillotine to their men’s gymnastics program. The decision obviously smacked of a serious kowtowing to the predatory and cannibalistic insanity of Title IX. Cal’s genius bean counters and feckless bureaucrats ended up granting a reprieve to [...more]
As one of the nation’s fastest top rising stars, Stacey Ervin had a breakout season in 2010. At the 2010 JO Nationals, Ervin qualified for the finals on four events (FX,SR,VT,PB) and ended up capturing 2nd place on parallel bars and won the national championship on vault. His hard work paid off with a 3rd place all-around finish. Maintaining that momentum at the 2010 VISA U.S. Championships, Ervin placed 4th in the all-around, took 3rd on floor and again won a national championship on vault. Ervin, a high school senior, trains at Mills Gymnastics in Southgate, MI under [...more]
We need a serious come hell or high water commitment from the entire gymnastics hierarchy to be forceful in guaranteeing the future of men's collegiate gymnastics. The same amount of bravery and strength our gymnasts exhibit every single day needs to go towards the promotion of our sport. Now. [...more]
Sadly, this week we marked the passing of one amazing grandmother, who just happened to be a staunch supporter of the sport of gymnastics. Rita Jennings died on Monday, September 20 at the age of 70. Rita was wife to Sheldon, mother to Patsy, mother-in-law to Scott and grandmother to Jon and Nick Spiro. Jon and Nick, of course, are elite gymnasts who train at New Hope in Fountain Valley, CA. Rita was a Region I icon. She worked her charm, supporting Region I gymnastics for the past 32 years. As well as being Jon and Nick's grandmother, [...more]
2010 was a break-out year for Jesse Silverstein in men's gymnastics, starting out the season with a 19th place AA finish and capturing the 5th best parallel bars score at Winter Cup. Then came his epic battle with Sam Mikulak at JO Nationals, where he placed a very close 2nd in the AA, took first on pommel horse and placed in the top 5 on the rest. Competing for the first time as a Senior, Silverstein cracked the top 10 (9th) in the AA at VISAs, and finished in 8th place on pommel horse, rings and vault. Yes, his arrival as one of America's top elite gymnasts is a [...more]
Jonathan Horton picked up where he left off Wednesday night, improving his all-around score by almost a full point, and held off Danell Leyva to successfully defend his U.S. Championship title. Horton posted a 91.30 to best Leyva's 90.00 in Friday night's competition in Hartford, CT. He hit on all six events this time and even improved his score on pommel horse (14.10). If not for his slightly watered-down high bar routine (14.90) and his lower score (compared to Wednesday's 15.30) on parallel bars (14.90), Horton would have scored [...more]
Jonathan Horton obviously brought his A-game to the first night of competition. He even hit his re-vamped pommel horse routine (13.95). Although he fell on his signature event (high bar... 14.20), he still posted a respectable 90.35, outlasting 2nd place finisher Danell Leyva by a full point. What a weird day, chock full of falls and mishaps. Brandon Wynn tore it up until his 12.35 on pommel horse. Still, this guy hit 15+ on three events to potentially force his hand on the selection committee. Wynn's 16.00 on rings, plus his impressive all-around performance, seems to make his [...more]
As expected, SCATS' Sam Mikulak won his first U.S. Championship, and did so in a runaway romp. Mikulak (86.50) finished a staggering 5.45 points ahead of 2nd place finisher Jacoby Rubin (81.05). The 16-18 age division title was never in doubt as Mikulak ended up capturing titles on floor, pommel horse, parallel bars and high bar. This particular title has been elusive for Mikulak, after having been the runner-up to John Orozco the past two years. But this title is sweet, as it caps off his brilliant club career. Still, Mikulak has unfinished business [...more]
