It was John Orozco Day in Dallas.  The Bronx Bomber started out with great scores on pommel (14.70) and rings (14.55) and never looked back.  Orozco won a staggering five out of six events and finished fifth on vault.  Every score was over 14.00 in a fascinating display of power and consistency.  His all-around score of 86.85 blew away the field.  As Gymnastike’s Anne Phillips tweeted after the meet, "seriously we should just go ahead and put him on the senior team."  We agree.

*** Check out Anne Phillips’ great post-meet interview with John Orozco ***

The 14-15 division had some surprises and disappointments.  Sam Mikulak had a solid meet, despite sub-par (for him) routines on vault and high bar.  He ended up with an 83.50 to easily outlast third-place finisher Jake Martin (81.05).  A lot of points were left on the floor today, thus opening up the competition to a free-for-all for the top positions.  Jake Martin had a solid day, topped off by a 15.00 on vault.  Jesse Glenn earned an outstanding fourth-place finish, which he clinched with the age division’s top vault of the day (15.15).  Max Mayr displayed consistency all afternoon and nailed down fifth place.

The most inspiring performance of the day came from Jacob Dastrup.  Fresh off an impressive showing at the National Qualifier, which enabled him to compete at VISAs, Dastrup earned a spot on the Junior National Team by placing seventh with a 79.00.  Dastrup competed as a Level 9 this past season and was the youngest gymnast in the field.

Here are the top 10 for the 14-15 Division:

1. John Orozco (World Cup) – 86.85
2. Sam Mikulak (SCATS) – 83.50
3. Jake Martin (Orlando Metro) – 81.05
4. Jesse Glenn (SCATS) – 80.75
5. Jonathan Deaton (Tim Daggett’s) – 79.45
6. Max Mayr (Universal) – 79.40
7. Jacob Dastrup (Arete) – 79.00
8. Adrian de Los Angeles (SCATS) – 78.75
9. Konner Ackerman (Metropolitan) – 78.15
10. Trevor Howard (Hocking Valley) – 78.10

In a wild finish in the 16-18 division, Cameron Rogers came from behind to win with an 82.15, barely edging out Jesse Silverstein and Chris Turner.  Fourth-place finisher, Dylan Akers, had the meet won going into his next to last event (high bar), but he fell doing a laid-out tkachev.  The competition was wide-open from the start and many gymnasts took advantage of others’ missed routines, as was evident by the constantly changing leader board.

Here are the top 10 for the 16-18 Division:

1. Cameron Rogers (Zenith) – 82.15
2. Jesse Silverstein (U.S. Gym. Ctr.) – 82.10
3. Chris Turner (WCOGA) – 81.85
4. Dylan Akers (Cypress) – 81.80
5. Wyatt Aycock (Orlando Metro) – 81.30
6. Jordan Valdez (Xtreme Altitude) – 81.00
7. Kyle Voissem (Swiss Turners) – 79.25
8. Alex Barrera (Universal) – 79.20
9. Steve Lacombe (Azarian) – 79.10
10. Mackenzie Dow (Surgents) – 78.95

Blythe Lawrence had a great live thread going during the junior competition.  I’m sure she’ll have it going again tonight for the senior competition.  If you’re homebound, be sure to check it out.

Related Post

StickItMedia Exclusive Interview with John Orozco

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