2020 Winter Cup: Prelim results, notes, and video

The U.S. men’s elite season kicked off on Thursday evening with prelims at the 2020 Winter Cup (and Elite Team Cup) in Las Vegas. This meet serves as a National Team qualification event as well as a good warmup to start the elite season.

There were big scores, some surprising results, and not so surprising results. Keep reading for full results, notes, and video.

Note: The top 6 senior all-round athletes from prelims automatically earn National Team spots.

Results

Senior Prelims & Senior 10-Point Results

Click above for full, official results.

All-Around Top 6 (Automatic National Team Qualifiers)

1. Sam Mikulak (USOPTC) – 86.800
2. Shane Wiskus (Minnesota) – 84.550
3. Brody Malone (Stanford) – 83.950
4. Grant Breckenridge (Stanford) – 83.900
5. 5T Yul Moldauer (Oklahoma) – 82.350
6. 5T Allan Bower (Oklahoma) – 82.350

Sam Mikulak

Team USA’s undisputed leader, Mikulak, finished in first by a considerable margin (2.25 points ahead of Wiskus), putting up the top scores on floor (14.600) as well as, arguably, his two best events: high bar (14.350) and parallel bars (15.350). Mikulak competed a slightly downgraded version of his high bar set, but is looking exceptional, overall, in his execution across events. You can tell he’s dialed in.

Shane Wiskus

Minnesota’s wunderkind and 2019 World team member Wiskus had a great day, finishing in the top 4 on every event but pommel horse. The 2019 U.S. vault champion, Wiskus finished first on the event with his exceptionally clean Kas 1.5 (14.450/9.250 E-score).

Brody Malone

Stanford’s Malone wasn’t messing around after being left off the National Team last year. The 2019 NCAA team, all-around, floor exercise, and high bar champion tied for second on parallel bars (14.600). He’ll look to improve on his high bar and floor performances heading into the final.

Grant Breckenridge

The biggest surprise of the top 6 automatic qualifiers is definitely Breckenridge. The 2019 NCAA high bar silver medalist finished in second on his favorite event, just behind Mikulak with a 14.100. He also tailed Mikulak on parallel bars, tying teammate Malone with a 14.600.

Oklahoma alums Moldauer and Bower rounded out the top 6, tying each other for fifth.

Yul Moldauer

Moldauer had a good performance but not his best, falling on high bar while attempting a Kolman. It was a night full of upgrades for the 2019 World team member. Included in that is his new floor routine, which holds a 6.1 D-score. He’ll look to clean that routine up for finals and moving forward into the Olympic season.

Allan Bower

Mr. Consistent, Bower, rocked pommel horse, finishing second with a score of 14.550. Bower’s routine is a must-watch with its 6.1 D-score, seemingly flawless execution, and killer dismount.

Junior Prelims

Click above for full, official results.

1. Fuzzy Benas (EnRich) – 78.800
2. Asher Hong (Cypress) – 77.950
3. Ian Lasic-Ellis (MEGA MA) – 77.400
4. Matt Cormier (MEGA MA) – 76.900
5. Logan Myers (5280 Gymnastics) – 76.400
6. Fred Richard (MEGA MA) – 76.350
7. Rithik Puri (Lakeshore) – 75.800
8. Steven Lukasik (LaFleurs Tampa) – 75.750
9. Kameron Nelson (Hayden’s) – 75.250
10. Zachary Nunez (Cypress) – 75.100
11. Brandon Nguyen (EGA) – 75.050
12. Joseph Pepe (North Valley) – 75.000
13. Oliver Zavel (Crenshaws) – 74.900
14. Noah Giordano (5280 Gymnastics) – 74.800

Competition wraps up on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 7:30 p.m. PT with the senior and junior all-around and event finals. Fans can watch live here.

The final session will feature the top 28 senior athletes (based on 10-point results above) and the top 14 juniors. Junior athletes advanced to the finals according to the all-around ranking from the first day of competition. 

For the senior division, all-around ranking is determined on the first day of competition and individual event champions will be determined via a combined two-day score. For the junior division, all-around ranking and individual event champions will be determined via a combined two-day score.