Live Blog

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oFMYPedzeg

Scores: https://myusagym.com/meets/live/88909/

Big set from Ignacio Yockers on pommel horse

Connor McCool sat his first vault but nailed the Kas 1.5.

Nice stick from Yul on Vault

Rotation 6

Stanford athletes have been strong on vault.

Yul Moldauer with a stuck dismount on rings.

Rotation 5

Yul Moldauer looked great on Pommels til the dismount.

Curran Phillips starts off the roration ith a near perfect 15.950 on Parallel Bars

Rotation 4

1. Yul Moldauer

2. Fuzzy Benas

3. Cameron Bock

4. Taylor Christopulos

5. Shane Wiskus

2:35 Lots of falls this rotation from Chou on Horse, Bold on high bar, and McCool on floor. Stick from Karnes on still rings

2:27 pm small hop from Curran on the Shewfelt vault. Riley Loos stayed on pommel horse

2:24 pm Nice Kas 1.5 from Shane Wiskus. He looks great today! Cameron Bock looked really good on high bar. A little late on the tak and a pike on the dismount

Rotation 3

2:15 pm Yul Moldauer has improved so much on high bar!

2:10 pm - Looks like Colin Flores has suffered an injury on vault. Brody ovverrated his still rings dismount.

2:00 pm - Patty hoopes with a strong routine on pommels. Not quite as clean as Steve. 14.75. Donnell made it through pommels. Shane looked solid on rings. Maybe a short hold. He's down on difficulty here. hop on the landing. Riley Loos sticks the opening pass.

Rotation 2

After 1:

1:45 pm Nice stick from Fuzzy Benas on SR. JR Chou is off on high bar.

1:40 pm - Yul Moldauer went 14.9 on pbars with a routine that had several small adjustments. Strong score with lots of room for improvement. Shane Wiskus did very well on pommel horse with some leg separations here and there (13.45). Kam Nelson was very impressive two vaults. Brody Malone is back - some skew on the Sivado and sone hip bend but should be a usable score in a team final (13.95)

1:36 pm - Landen Blixt just did a tucked timer on VT. Stephen went cleanly on PH but didn't do his most difficult routine. 15.2 for Nedoroscik 

UPDATE: Paul Juda withdrew.

1:30 pm - Lots of big routines to start off the day! Stephen Nedoroscik begins on pommel horse, Paul Juda on vault, and Yul Moldauer on Parallel bars.

1:25 pm - the athletes are marching in!

Rotation 1

The Basics

The 2024 Winter Cup will take place in Louisville, KY. This competition will determine the national team, allow gymnasts to earn international assignments, and qualification to USA Nationals.

Event Details:

Dates: February 23nd to 25th, 2024

Location: Louisville, KY Competition Schedule:

Friday, Feb. 23, 2024

1:30 p.m. ET – Winter Cup: Senior Men’s Competition Day 1

Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024

6:30 p.m. ET – Elite Team Cup Team Competition; Junior Men Competition Day 1 – All-around

Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024

5:30 p.m. ET – Winter Cup: Senior Men’s Competition Day 2 – All-around & Event Finals & Junior Men’s Event Finals Live Streaming

The Elite Team Cup and Winter Cup competition will stream on USA Gymnastics’ YouTube channel. Podium training for all groups will be available on FlipNow.tv with a yearly or pay-per-view subscription.

National Team

Eight individuals are set to be pre-qualified for the senior national winner team, including Landen Blixt from Michigan and Josh Karnes from Penn State, who are both members of the senior development team. Additionally, the six-member 2023 world championships team , consisting of – Khoi Young, Colt Walker, Asher Hong, Fred Richard, Yul Moldauer, and Paul Juda – are also pre-qualified. However, Young, Walker, Hong, and Richard won't be participating in the upcoming meet. Young, Walker, and Hong, are selected for the Cottbus World Cup in Germany, while Richard has withdrawn due to minor injuries, expressing his intention to prioritize rest for the upcoming season leading to the Olympic Games.

Full qualification procedures can be found here:

National Team Contenders

Winter Cup will mark the return of Brody Malone at the national level, the 2022 high bar World Champion is expected to compete in three events: pommel horse, still rings, and parallel bars. He is planning on including high bar after the conclusion of winter cup. 

Brody Malone will compete on pommel horse, still rings, and parallel bars at the 2024 Winter Cup.

Changes have been implemented compared to previous years in regards to the qualification process for the senior winter national team. The all-around requirement, which previously allowed individuals to make the senior national team by placing in the top five in the all-around on day one, has been altered.

Returning to the original format, athletes now need to secure a top-five placement in the all-around on both days of competition. Following these eight pre-qualified individuals, the next five spots on the national team will be determined through the 10-point program. This program assigns points based on event rankings, with competitors accumulating higher points for placing high in event rankings and participating in more events.

Additionally, up to two event specialists can make the team, provided they have a competitive D score from the 2023 World Championships and secure an event win. Event specialists like Stephen Nedoroscik, Alex Diab, Brody Malone, Ignacio Yockers, Brandon Ding, and Curran Phillips may have the required D score, but only the event winner will secure a spot. Meaning that athletes like Nedoroscik, Yockers, Ding, and Hoops will all be fighting for the single pommel horse spot. 

Stephen Nedorosick will be one of the many pommel horse specialists who will be aiming to earn the single pommel horse specialist spot.

Any remaining spots will be assigned by the senior selection committee. The expected size of the senior national team is around 20 spots, though it hasn't been explicitly stated.

Senior Development Team Loophole

An interesting provision allows replacements on the senior national team; if the two individuals on the senior development team, Landen Blixt and Joshua Karnes, make the team outright, their spots will be reallocated to the highest-scoring athlete aged 18 to 20 within that range.

Competing Athletes:

Full list of athletes below.

Javier Alfonso, Miami, FL/University of Michigan

Michael Artlip, Bellaire, TX/Penn State

Fuzzy Benas, Richmond, TX/University of Oklahoma

Jeremy Bischoff, Santa Clarita, CA/Stanford University

Jaden Blank, Lakewood Ranch, FL/United States Military Academy

Landen Blixt, Fowlerville, MI/University of Michigan

Cameron Bock, Ann Arbor, MI/University of Michigan

Crew Bold, Delray Beach, FL/University of Michigan

Garrett Braunton, USAF Academy, CO/USAF

Taylor Burkhart, Stanford, CA/Stanford University

Solen Chiodi, Marquette, MI/Mini-Hops Gymnastics

J.R. Chou, Oakmont, PA/Stanford University

Taylor Christopulos, Layton, UT/University of Nebraska

Caden Clinton, Cypress, TX/Cypress Academy of Gymnastics

Matt Cormier, Milton, MA/Penn State

Tate Costa, Narragansett, RI/University of Illinois

Brandon Dang, San Jose, CA/University of Illinois

Alex Diab, Bradenton, FL/EVO Gymnastics

Isaiah Drake, Los Angeles, CA/US Naval Academy

Colin Flores, Mountain House, CA/University of Oklahoma

Jack Freeman, Palestine, TX/University of Oklahoma

Ian Gunther, Houston, TX/Stanford University

Dallas Hale, Frisco, TX/5280 Gymnastics

Patrick Hoopes, Lehi, UT/USAF

Evan Hymanson, Morganville, NJ/Stanford Boys Gymnastics

Paul Juda, Deerfield, IL/University of Michigan

Joshua Karnes, Erie, PA/Penn State

Jordan Kovach, Lombard, IL/Premier Gymnastics Academy

Toby Liang, Roswell, GA/University of Nebraska

Riley Loos, Folsom, CA/Stanford University

Brody Malone, Sarasota, FL/EVO Gymnastics

Connor McCool, Ocean City, NJ/University of Illinois

Yul Moldauer, Arvada, CO/5280 Gymnastics

Stephen Nedoroscik, Sarasota, FL/EVO Gymnastics

Kameron Nelson, Columbus, OH/Ohio State Univ

Noah Newfeld, Plano, TX/University of California – Berkeley

Brandon Nguyen, Elk Grove, CA/Stanford University

Austin Padgett, Broken Arrow, OK/Pride Gymnastics Academy

Vahe Petrosyan, Van Nuys, CA/University of Illinois

Curran Phillips, Naperville, IL/EVO Gymnastics

Rithik Puri, Chicago, IL/University of Michigan

Ian Sandoval, Frisco, TX/EVO Gymnastics

Blake Sun, San Antonio, TX/Stanford University

Kai Uemura, Chicago, IL/Lakeshore Academy of Art Gymnastics

Donnell Whittenburg, Milwaukee, WI/Salto Gymnastics Center

Shane Wiskus, Sarasota, FL/EVO Gymnastics

Ignacio Yockers, Tulsa, OK/University of Oklahoma

Elite Team Cup

Last of all, the Elite Team Cup, featuring junior gymnasts from different U.S. regions, will take place on Saturday evening, offering a compelling alternative for gymnastics enthusiasts. Regions 1 and 3 are anticipated to field strong teams in this competition.

Article by: Kensley Behel

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