Team USA prevailed over Israel in the men's gymnastics team competition at the 2013 Maccabiah Games in Tel Aviv, Israel. The Americans were led by Oklahoma's Alec Robin (2nd AA-80.80) and Stanford's Jordan Nolff (3rd AA-80.75). Winning the AA was Penn State grad Felix Aronovich, representing Israel (84.75). Incoming Cal freshman Adam Young took [...more]
The entire field is now set for the 2013 U.S. Championships, complete with a new sponsor. Procter & Gamble, the Cincinnati-based behemoth, whose products can be found in virtually every room of the house, is signed on at least through the remainder of the Quad. 2012 Olympian Danell Leyva led the Senior field (87.00) at the weekend Qualifier in Colorado Springs, highlighted by his performances on PB (15.50) and HB (15.85). It was Leyva's first competition since his [...more]
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]
I've often touted Event Finals at JO Nationals as being the perfect showcase for America's best junior club gymnasts. In fact, I've also clamored for this event to be televised by ESPN, much like their annual Little League World Series coverage. It's a production crew's dream. Historically, it has been eighteen gymnasts (Levels 9 & 10) on six events, America's best juniors being introduced one at a time and taking the podium alone. The whole event takes 90-120 minutes. America's perfect showcase has been kicked [...more]
In Sunday's finale of the Michigan/Sam Mikulak show, it was more Michigan and more Sam. The Wolverines piled up a total of eleven more All-American performances, including five from Sam. Oh yeah, he took home two more national title trophies on PB (15.50) and HB (16.10). His teammates got into the act, too. Adrian de los Angeles, who has to be one tired gymnast, claimed another All-American honor on PB. Syque Caesar capped off [...more]
They simply ran into a buzzsaw this weekend. Oklahoma (440.10), that is. Their gutsy performance at the 2013 NCAA Championships fell short, as Michigan put together two straight days of consistently outstanding gymnastics. Nearly matching their Friday night score of 443.85, the Wolverines (443.20) overwhelmed the field of six at the meet hosted by Penn State. Their opening salvo came on their first event, pommel horse (72.25), where they posted a meet high and sent an ominous sign [...more]
