Horton in the Lead after Day 1 at U.S. Men’s Gymnastics Championships
Posted on 12 August 2010 by admin
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 World Team selection a reality at this point. Wynn’s all-around performance was actually probably the most impressive of the day. He has now firmly established himself as the nation’s top performer on rings, and one of our best all-arounders.
The saddest sight of the evening was when John Orozco was carried out of the arena after suffering an injury on vault. Orozco was having a great meet and was forced to scratch on his final event, parallel bars. Presumably, his injury is related to his achilles tendon. Orozco was well on his way to a spot on the Senior National Team.
Danell Leyva really shined in his 2nd place finish. Leyva hit on all six events, including his spectacular performance on high bar (15.65). Chris Brooks posted the highest scores of the evening on parallel bars (15.70) and high bar (15.80), but suffered setbacks on floor and pommel horse. Nevertheless, he still finds himself in strong contention for a spot on the World Team. Daniel Ribeiro took advantage of all the low scores on pommel horse, as he put up the evening’s top score (15.50). A repeat of that performance may earn him a ticket to Rotterdam. The most impressive score of the night was Steven Legendre’s 17.05 on vault. He absolutely nailed his Dragulescu.
The top club performers who are advancing to Friday’s finale are Jesse Silverstein, Sam Mikulak, Dylan Akers, CJ Maestas, Sean Melton, Stacey Ervin, Trevor Howard, Matt del Junco and Jordan Valdez. A total of 43 gymnasts will compete on Friday.
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